


An Unexpected Midsummer's Eve

by MoonCrown



Series: Home [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Adventure, Family Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-09 12:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonCrown/pseuds/MoonCrown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is said that during midsummer, magic is at its strongest. I was told it has something to do with the summer solstice, the date when the day is at its longest. I never believed in it though, it was never real, or at least it wasn't until that one unexpected event, Friday the 24th of June, Midsummer's Eve, 2005. </p><p>Our lives were changed forever that day, and it would never be the same again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue, Therese

**Author's Note:**

> The first 6 chapters are part of the prologue of this very long story, just so you all know. It was first published on Fanfiction.net but since I've started to be active here as well I figured I might as well have it on both sites. 
> 
> I greatly appreciate any constructive criticism be it about the story itself or just plain old spelling/grammar mistakes.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

_It is said that during midsummer, magic is at its strongest. Apparently it has something to do with the summer solstice, the date when the day is at its longest. There used to be several ceremonies and rituals that were regularly practiced in the Scandinavian countries during Midsummer in the middle ages and earlier, but nowadays only few are commonly known, and even fewer are believed in._

_There is however one particular myth that most adults pass on to their children. Ever since I was a little girl, I don’t even remember how old I was, I’ve heard that if you pick seven different flowers from seven different yards and put them under your pillow during Midsummer’s Eve, you will dream of your future spouse. It was also crucial you did not make a sound during the act, but waited until you woke up the next morning, otherwise the spell would fail. I did this every year, and I loved it._

_Naturally I did not believe any of it though, the magic that is, not really, because it was obvious none of the adults did either. It was tradition and it was considered adorable for children, mainly the girls, to climb over fences and walk from yard to yard to pick different flowers. It wasn’t real, or at least it wasn’t until that one unexpected event 8 years ago, Friday the 24 th of June, Midsummer’s Eve, 2005.   _

* * *

 

“Therese, come on!” the demand came from a black haired boy standing impatiently in the middle of the flower field. The tall yellow flowers reached his knees and he was eager to return home to escape the mosquitos and bugs, but his sister did not seem to share his sentiment.

She stood still with her head faced down searching intensely for a different kind of flower than the yellow ones, making her auburn hair fall down her face. When she heard her brother’s annoyed cry she simply gave him a quick glare through the locks before turning back to the flower. It was serious business picking the flowers, she was not about to let her bother ruin it with his whining.

Ivar huffed grumpily when he received her look and turned his attention to the flowers as well. Maybe if he could help her find the remaining blossom the ordeal would be over faster. His face lit up at the sight of a small purple flower hidden behind some grass by his foot. “Here, it’s purple, come and see!”

Therese’s head whipped up and a big smile made its way over her face while she rushed to her brother. Happily she picked the small purple flower and proudly held her small bouquet in a tight grip.

“Great, okay, _now_ can we leave?” Ivar said gesturing for her to move.

She shot him a quick grin before sprinting off, leaving him behind him.

“HEY!” he growled in annoyance and rushed after her, “THAT IS SO UNFAIR!”

Therese was a much faster runner than her brother, which some might say was not particularly strange considering she was three year older than him, but it is worth to mention she also ran faster than even her father and that however was a bit more particular. It was not very surprising then that in but a few moments she had gotten to the forest that was between the fields and their house. She would have laughed out loud at Ivar’s exclamations had it not been for her desire to complete the dream spell.

Running barefoot on forest floor was an art form she had mastered long ago and swift were her movements as she followed the narrow path between the trees. Soon she could no longer hear Ivar and she smugly assumed he had given up catching her. Slowing down she started to walk instead when closing in to the river. It was not a very big river, more like a stream really, but in Therese’s mind it was a great river, and she always enjoyed walking by its bank until she reached the road and the bridge.

She glanced behind her back to see if Ivar was near. Their father had always taught them to take care of each other and even though Ivar was 12 years old she was still older and therefore responsible. He was probably being slow on purpose, she thought, wrinkling her nose in annoyance.

Suddenly she jerked in shock as water streamed between her feet, reflexively a hand shot up to stop herself from making a sound. Her heart had started to race by the surprise and quickly she stepped away from the stream and further up the bank. What in the world was happening?

“HOLD ON!” the muffled cry jerked her from her thoughts, “JUST HO-…”

She felt her heart freeze to ice as she realized the screaming came from the stream, and it was Ivar’s voice. Her eyes franticly searched the water in front of her. Had the stream always been this broad and strong?

“IVAR? WHERE ARE YOU?” she ran along the bank, “IVAR!”

She could not see him, but she could hear him and another voice. They were both shouting and screaming but she could only make out what Ivar was saying.

“TAKE MY HAND!” Ivar screamed.

_Where is his voice coming from?!_ Therese thought, it sounded as they were passing her _but she could not see anything!_

The other voice in the river was muffled by water.

“IVAR?!” she cried again.

Suddenly it was quiet. The stream was calm again and the only thing Therese could hear was the sound of her own breathing, “IVAR?!”

“Therese, what has happened?!” Therese turned around at the sound of her name and met the bewildered face of Johanna. The older girl had just passed the bridge and when she had heard the panicked scream of her younger sister she had hurried to see what was wrong.

“It’s Ivar! He fell in the stream somewhere up streams, I think he was helping someone but they’re gone!” Therese gestured wild, “I tried to find them, I think they passed me, but I couldn’t see them and now it’s quiet and I don’t know what to do!”

“Therese-.”

“I left him Johanna, I ran away from him and now he might be-...” the younger girl was interrupted by a mild shake on her shoulders, it was Johanna.

“Look at me Therese, look at me,” Johanna ordered, “Run home and fetch Johannes and dad, Johannes should be on the way and dad is chucking wood, okay? Can you do that?”

Therese nodded through her tears and Johanna quickly gave her kiss before patting her on the back in the direction of the bridge.

She immediately started running along the road and nearly ran straight into Johannes walking from their house. He caught her easily and took a good look at her tear sprained face, “Therese wha-…”

“It’s Ivar, he’s drowning, Johanna told me to...-” before she got the chance to continue Johannes was already running past her.

“GO, GET DAD!” he shouted while he ran and then he disappeared down the side of the bridge.

She did not need to be told twice and once again started to run. With heavy breathing she raced through the gate into their yard, “DAD, DA-…”

Her father appeared behind the house corner still with an axe in hand. His eyes found his daughter instantly and he hurried to her side.

“Ivar-… Ivar, he fell… into stream… past the bridge… you have to hurry!” she managed to get out between her gasps for air.

“Did you meet Johanna and Johannes?” he asked and took both her cheeks in his hands, “they were on their way to the bus stop: did you see them?”

“Y-yes, they are already looking for him,” she sobbed miserable.

“Good, that’s good, you did good Therese,” her father said and embraced his daughter and kissed her face.

“No I didn’t dad, I left him! If I hadn’t-…”

“No, listened to me Therese, what has happened has happened,” he said, his grey looking into her bluer ones, “do not linger on it, take my axe back and then go inside, has anyone called 112?” she shook her head, “I will do that, you will call your mother, can you do that?”

“Okay,” she whimpered weakly, “okay, I can do that”

“That’s good Therese, you _have_ done well,” he kissed her one last time on the cheek before straightening up and hurrying towards the stream leaving her alone in the yard.

Her heart was beating hard in her chest and she was still breathing heavily. When she no longer could see her father’s back she collapsed on the ground and cried.

She cried because she was terrified for her brother, because she knew it was possible he would drown. She cried because she had left him instead of walking beside him, convinced that he would not have fallen in had she done that instead. She also cried because she had spoken and dropped her flowers. She cried because she even cared about those flowers in the first place. This day had been so great, she thought. It was midsummer’s eve and they had all gone to the Fjällgård outdoor museum to celebrate together with hundreds of people. Then all of them, except for their mother and Frida, had come home in the evening and Therese had dragged Ivar along with her to pick flowers because she did not want to climb over all the gärsgård fences alone. Johannes and Johanna had surely been on their way to the city to meet up with their friends. She had ruined everything.

On shaky legs she stood up and walked up to the big red house that she called home. It was a nice house that her mother and father had built before any of their children had been born. She walked up the steps and entered. The phone was at its usual place on the wall by the kitchen window. She dialed the number and nervously waited for her mother to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” it was Frida who answered the phone.

“Could you give the phone to mom?” Therese asked, trying to keep control of her voice.

“Well, I could, but she’s kinda busy!” Frida replied, “maybe you could tell me, and then I could tell mom?”

“I need to talk to mom, Frida,” she bit out, “tell her it’s important.”

On the other side of the line Frida huffed, “rude,” and then after a few moments Frida had handed the phone to their mother.

“Is something the matter sweetie?”

At the sound of their mother’s voice Therese could not help the new set of tears that filled her eyes and she sobbed, “mom…”

“Are you alright sweetie?” the concerned question broke down whatever control she thought she had over her emotions.

“Ivar fell into the river,” she cried loudly, “and- and I couldn’t do- anything!”

“Therese…-“

“Johanna came and then, and then I met Johannes and they told me to get dad and now they are looking for him!” she held her free hand to her face trying to contain herself.

“Sweetie, you stay home alright?” her mother said calmly, “I’ll be coming home right away okay? Sweetie?”

“Okay mom”, she sniveled, “come home quickly okay?”

 “I will, sweetheart, just keep calm and Frida and I will be right there.”

The phone clicked shut and Therese suddenly felt so terribly alone in the silent house. How could she ever face her mother like this? She did not want to meet neither of her parents ever again. Her father had always lectures the siblings in how important family was, how important you siblings were, yet she had left her brother anyway. She did not think at the time, because what was the worst that could happen? He was 12 years old for goodness sake, not a small six year old like Frida how could not swim. Yet the water had been so _violent,_ and there had been someone else there too and everything went _quiet_. What could have happened?

No, she hated this. She hated the waiting. Never had she been one to wait and see! She was always the one that _acted._ Restlessly she walked to the hallway and stared at her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She straighten out her traditional norrbotten gown stared at her messy hair and tear stained face. She could not stay here doing nothing.

Struck with an unexpected kick of energy and haste she hurried out the door and ran. She was always good at running. Maybe she could run through the wood and past the fields on the _opposite_ side of their house. That would lead her to Fjällgård and past that to where the stream met the bigger river. It was a massive shortcut compared to following the stream by every curve and even though there were no roads, or even small forest paths, she had her smartphone and in it a map, surely she could do it. If anyone could run that distance and through that terrain fast enough it was her.

In swift movements she scribbled down a short note to her mother and grabbed her phone. As she did not want to waste time changing clothes of tying shoelaces she sprinted out of the door barefoot with her dress whirling around her.

* * *

 

I glanced at the screen again; I was getting closer to Fjällgård. I tried to ignore the time, but I already knew my idea had been naïve because there was no way I could possibly get to Ivar quicker than the ones already looking for him, including the police and ambulance most likely.

My lungs and legs were already spent and the terrain was horrible. I wanted to scream, but I swallowed it down instead. It was getting colder too, and I hadn’t even taken with me a jacket in my haste. “Shit,” I said, because that was the only thing I could currently say in the middle of the forest cold, barefoot, hurt and unaware if Ivar was okay or not, “shit, shit, shit, _shit!”_

“It always has to me,” I stopped running and stomped my way through the twigs, trees and bushed instead, “I… am… a…. freaking… abomination… of… nature… so… undeniably… _useless!”_   

“Running through a forest, yeah, sure, no matter there’s no path” I mocked myself and started to cry again, “why not? And twist my ankle? _Check_!”

Why was I always so s _tupid?_ Who in the world thinks they can just run through that kind of terrain barefoot? Well, me, obviously, but surely no one with brains bigger than a pea.

I checked my phone again, “ _no connection?!”_ I shrieked, “no, _no_ , _no!”_

Great, just absolutely fantastic, the cherry on top the mountain of ice cream and chocolate, how amazingly _fabulous._ “WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I’M GOING TO CHANGE NETWORK, YOU HEAR THAT TELIA?! ‘CONNECTION NO MATTER WHERE I AM’, _MY ASS!”_

Okay, no need to panic. The last thing I saw Fjällgård was pretty much right in front of me. If I only keep going straight ahead I should reach it soon, and even if I didn’t it’s not exactly as if it was a particularly deep forest, either way if I keep going I should see some sort of civilization soon enough. “Which is my I should have network,” I grumbled to myself, because there was no one else around me to hear anyway. Just perfect.

Wait, was that music? I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound. True enough I could hear music in the distance in front of me. I felt my heart lift in hope. It must be some people left in Fjällgård, maybe some teenagers, that has decided to celebrate some more. I followed the sound, limping as I walked.

Now that my adrenaline had left me I could feel the pain in my twisted ankle and all the cuts I somehow had gotten around my lower legs and hands. It was also painfully cold and somehow the sky was darker than I remembered it ever being on midsummer’s eve before.

It felt… odd, when I passed the last pair of trees and stepped out of the forest. This didn’t look like Fjällgård at all… I felt a chill run down my spine and I felt sick. My distress was rising and I closed my arms around my torso and tried to keep myself in check. Uncertainly I walked forward.

All I could see was hills, just so many hills, _with doors and windows and lanterns and gardens._ I briefly wondered if I was hallucinating, but I knew that wasn’t true. It all felt too real. The pain, the fear, it was all way too real.

The celebrating in front of me was too real, no matter how bizarre it seemed that people not much taller than Frida would be dancing around a midsummer pole while singing. It was all too real when they fell silent in chock at my sudden appearance through the woods and I broke.

Everything became fuzzy and I feel down on my knees and covered my face in my hands. What was happening? I just couldn’t understand. I only cried, and cried, and cried.

I didn’t see how the small folk pushed one of their own to inspect the hurt young woman that had disturbed their joyful feast or how that one brave soul carefully got closer to me. Nor did I see or even notice when he hunched right next to me and waved for someone to help him help me.

Suddenly I felt gentle hands and it felt so nice, and so safe. They help me up even though they barely reached higher than my waist and slowly they lead me away from the party while speaking with each other in a language I couldn’t understand at all. One of them seemed a bit unhappy with something but as I staggered with my eyes closed to wherever, I couldn’t bring myself to care. They were careful and soon I found myself entering a warm home and a soft bed. The male voices disappeared and female voices took their place. They cared for my ankle and my cuts. They changed my clothes and covered me in warm blankets. Lastly they brushed my hair and braided it.

I didn’t open my eyes; I couldn’t take any more this day. I retreated into myself and melted into the soft bed. The voices slowly diminished until only one male voice remained and the door was shut.

I could hear him sigh by the door of the room I had been appointed, but then he silently walked in and extinguished the lamp that was somewhere near my head. After than everything was still for a while before he sighed once more and retreated from the room, closing the door carefully behind him.

With everything peaceful and silent for the first time in many hours I fell into deep sleep.

That was how my first meeting with a certain Bilbo Baggins of Bag End, ended.      


	2. Prologue, Ivar

_Sometimes in school I was very embarrassed of my family. We were odd, simple as that._

_Mom was the daughter of Olof and Gunhild Fjällgårda, the owners of the Fjällgård outdoor museum and they lived and breathed their work. It is basically a very old family farm that can be traced back to the Viking era, and sometime in the beginning of the 1900s my family decided to rebuild and conserve everything in some way. I never really cared about it, so excuse my lack of knowledge. Anyway the result was the Fjällgård outdoor museum and with it came grand middle age themed celebrations every big holiday and once every year they hired people from Gotland to come up and hold a middle age week. In other words a lot of things from the medieval era, even though they sometimes threw in some Vikings and such._

_It was kind of awesome, but the problem was that it didn’t end there._

_It was one thing that mom loved clothing me and my siblings in different clothes from different time periods, that was pretty fun and it was always awesome to carry a sword or a bow. No, the problem was our dad, he was a fanatic._

_He was worse than mom, grandma and grandpa_ combined. _Which might not mean much to anyone not concerned, but believe me: that is a lot._

 _Not only were we to carry swords and bows, oh no, we had to wield them too._ _He even made us try if we preferred long bow or short bow, one-handed sword or long sword and once forced us to try a battle axe, war axe and even a freaking war hammer just for the sake of it. Why? None of us ever understood, but we grew up with it, so we never realized how weird it was until we started school. Johannes and Johanna got the worst of it of course (being the eldest) but then came Therese and me. Therese was rather small compared to Johanna, so with her he concentrated on stealth and hunting, but I probably weren't going to get away that easily. The way he used to train Johannes was a proof of that and I was even bigger than Johannes was my age._

 _You think this sounds kind of bad? Well, that’s just half of it. Wait until you hear about the s_ urvival exercises _and_ training camping.

_I only got to go on one, but I know Johannes and Johanna had been on plenty. He was always extra hard on them._

_He literally dragged us out in the wild only to teach us how to survive it. Now it sounds cool, but believe me: it wasn’t. It was painful, cold, late nights and early mornings. It was holding watch and hunting, fishing and lighting a fire without lighter or matches. We weren’t even allowed to bring phones or music player; it was in lack of a better expression, positively medieval._

_I was only 12 at the time, but it is surprising how much you can learn when you don’t have a choice. But even though I never in a million years thought I would say this, I was extremely thankful for all of this after that one event 2005 on midsummer’s eve._

* * *

“Therese, come on!” the demand came from a black haired boy standing impatiently in the middle of the flower field. The tall yellow flowers reached his knees and he was eager to return home to escape the mosquitos and bugs, but his sister did not seem to share his sentiment.

She stood still with her head faced down searching intensely for a different kind of flower than the yellow ones, making her auburn hair fall down her face. When she heard her brother’s annoyed cry she simply gave him a quick glare through the locks before turning back to the flower. It was absolutely ridiculous how seriously she took those _flowers._  

Ivar huffed grumpily when he received her look and turned his attention to the flowers as well. Maybe if he could help her find the remaining blossom the ordeal would be over faster. His face lit up at the sight of a small purple flower hidden behind some grass by his foot. “Here, it’s purple, come and see!”

Therese’s head whipped up and a big smile made its way over her face while she rushed to her brother. Happily she picked the small purple flower and proudly held her small bouquet in a tight grip.

“Great, okay, _now_ can we leave?” Ivar said gesturing for her to move.

She shot him a quick grin before sprinting off, leaving him behind him.

“HEY!” he growled in annoyance and rushed after her, “THAT IS SO UNFAIR!”

He tried to run after her, but soon realized it was futile – Therese was probably the fastest runner in the whole landscape, even when she was barefoot. In a few seconds he decided it was not worth losing breath on something like that. She could hardly return home without him anyway, their father would throw a fit if she did. So instead of sprinting after her he deliberately slowed his pace even as he walked, giggling while doing so. _The one who laugh last, laugh the loudest._

When he finally reached the stream through the forest he stopped. Something felt awfully odd, like when you walk into your room one day and someone moved everything a little bit to the right. He remembered Therese doing that once to him after he ate one of her chocolates from her advent chocolate calendar, it was surprisingly uncomfortable and similar to the feeling he had now.

The stream was being weird he thought, it was sort of bigger and stronger. Had it always been that broad? He could not remember, but surely not?

Bewildered by all this he walked a bit up streams just to see if there was something there that could answer his questions, but instead all he heard was the sound of screaming and shouting. It was fearful, he noted, and intrigued he hurried even further up streams to see what was happening.

A big tree had fallen halfway across the stream and a desperate person was hanging by it, the strong currents trying to pry him lose and devour him. Ivar was in chock for a moment; didn’t he know how to swim? The person looked older than him after all, with long brown hair and even some scruff. The frightful cry for help, because Ivar assumed it was for help, made him guess that the man indeed did not know how to swim, and even if he did his heavy clothes and the strong current would do him no favors.

Quickly he ran up the bank until he stood right in front of the tree and the person. “HEY!” he shouted, “HOLD ON, I’LL HELP YOU!”

The young man looked up and met his eyes; he looked very distressed and shouted something back.  Ivar could not understand a word, but it was a bit muffled by the water so he figured that was why. Ugh, why had he not taken his phone with him?

“WOAH, CLAM DOWN!” the man was panicking, it was easy to see, but then Ivar realized why: the branch the man was hanging on to was breaking. “ _Shit!”_    

Quickly he gestured for the man to stay put, and then he ran further up the stream. Ivar figured that, since he was a good swimmer, he could jump in and swim towards the tree. The current would be strong, but if he started further up he might still make it to the tree.

“Dad is going to kill me for this,” he complained quietly and rapidly removed his clothes and shoes before plunging in.

The water was cold against his skin, but he told himself to suck it up – if he can swim in ice holes during winter he should certainly be able to swim in a stream during summer.

“HOLD ON, I’M COMING!” he shouted, and he could hear a muffled cry in response. Good, that meant the guy was still there.

It was hard to maneuver in the water, but it was possible. When he saw that the tree was finally straight in front of him he braced himself for the impact. The twigs dug themselves into his skin and for a moment he wished he had left on his shirt at least. “Okay,” he said weakly, “okay, this far this good.” It hurt, but he could handle it.

The guy was on the other side of the tree trunk still holding onto the branch and carefully Ivar made his way closer to him. Their eyes met when Ivar was right in front of him. The guy said something again and Ivar realized he did not speak any language he was familiar with, but that did not matter, “my hand,” he tried, “take my hand!”

He reached for a far as he could but it was not enough. The dark haired guy did however understand what was happening and also tried to reach for the outstretched hand.

They were so concentrated on reaching one another they failed to notice the branch breaking.

 Ivar and the other man had just gotten a firm grip on each other’s wrists when branch snapped in half. Ivar gasped in pain when suddenly he was the only thing holding the long haired person from being drifted away and the force of the new weight pressed him painfully onto the tree.

“Hold on!” he pressed out and used his other hand to get an extra grip on the wrist. The guy gasped for air and groaned but also managed to get a hold on Ivar’s hands with his other hand. Ivar tried to pull him in, but the current was much stronger than the 12 year old boy and his muscles gave in. _“Shit!”_

Where in the world was Therese when you needed her?!

Their eyes met again and they both looked pained. Ivar could feel his grasp slipping and they both knew that it would not hold for long. In a split second Ivar made his decision, “dad is so going to kill me,” he said, and in the same moment the grip slipped he pushed himself over the stem and desperately followed the young man down the stream. They both screamed and shouted muffled cries and tried to reach each other again.

Ivar managed to grab a floating branch, maybe even the one that had broken, and desperately tried to push it towards his newfound friend who was struggling to keep his head over the surface. The young man did grab it and now they both held it for their dear lives, but surely they should have passed the bridge and Therese by now? The two figures continued to shout things two one another and to however might be nearby, but later Ivar would not remember what words he had chosen.

“IVAR? WHERE ARE YOU?” was he hallucinating? Therese’s voice sounded so very far away. “IVAR!”

Ivar could see that his companion was bewildered by her voice and started to shout something in that language again. The branch became unstable.

“HOLD ON!” he screamed when it seemed as if the man would let go of it in his panic, “JUST HO-…“ the water drowned his shout as the branch shot through the air the moment he let lost his grip of it.

 _Shit,_ he thought. “TAKE MY HAND!”

What in the world was happening? Where was Therese? He could hear her, but when he looked around she was nowhere to be seen. _Shit_.

“IVA-…” Therese voice suddenly disappeared, as if someone had pulled the plug from a stereo.

“THE-THERESE?!” he roared, “THERESE?!”

Shit, shit, shit, _shit._

The man was barely conscious when Ivar got a hold of him and Ivar’s own strength was close to its limits.

“You got to be kidding me…” was that a waterfall?! This definitely was not home!

For a moment Ivar war certain he was going to die a painful death and so would his nearly unconscious buddy, but then he saw his possible salvation: there was a big rock in the middle of the water just by the edge of the waterfall. It looked sharp and hard, but it was g _round._

 _‘Dear God let this work’,_ was his last thoughts before he once again braced himself for an unpleasant impact. He held the young man with his left arm, which was only possible because the man in question was surprisingly short and rather small, and prepared to hold the rock with his right arm.

Ivar was as ready as he possibly could be, but of course it was not nearly enough.

* * *

 

I don’t really remember what happened, just that it hurt more than anything I could ever imagine.

The rock hit my stomach and the current was so strong I couldn’t move. The sharp edge broke through my skin and I could see my own blood mix with the water. I could barely breathe and my firm grip on my unknown companion twisted my arm painful way, I remember praying for it not to be ripped off.

I fought with my right arm, trying to pry myself away from the rock, but the result was almost worse. My flesh was torn and suddenly I found myself on the opposite side of the rock than he I was holding. The awkward angle caused my shoulder to dislocate and I could feel a bone in my arm break.

The grip I had on his leather belt was not natural, by hand had frozen, I couldn’t move it. It was almost as if my hand had been set in that position and then turned to stone. I could only scream in pain. All I wanted was to let go and fall down that waterfall. All I wanted was to rest.

That was when I heard shouting. Loud masculine shouts, determined and strong. My vision was blurry and I think I might have been half unconscious, but I did feel a small glimmer of hope when they turned up on either side of the edge and tossed ropes from side to side, creating… well something to hold on to.

I don’t remember the rest. I just remember being carried away afterwards; still aching so much I could not even have my eyes open. I remember beards and full grown men that weren’t taller than me, some was even shorter.

Then I everything became black.

* * *

 

I woke up sometimes, but I never stayed away for more than a few moments.

I felt so cold, but everything was so hot! Sometimes I couldn’t breathe.

I dreamt of horrible currents and water. It was hard to drink the water that was offered to me and more often than not did I choke on it.

Once, however, I did manage to stay awake for a little while.

The one I had saved was sitting on a chair next to me and watched me intensively. He was younger than I had first thought, but still much older than me, maybe like Johannes or older.

His brown eyes lit up when he saw me watching back.

He said something with a big smile on his face, but I didn’t understand a word. Then he shouted out the door before kneeling down in front of me, pointing to his chest, “Kili, he said, and then pointed at me.

It took a few seconds for me to register what he meant, but then I realized he was asking for my name. “Ivar,” I answered hoarsely. I was surprised over how weak I sounded.

“Ivar!” he repeated with an even bigger smile than before and tried to say something more, but my eyelids were heavy and soon I was fast asleep again for another day.

It was painful and unpleasant but it was also how I first met Kili and the rest of the line of Durin, and that, I could never regret.


	3. Prologue, Johannes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sindarin will be written in cursive   
> Swedish will be written normally

_I never really took my dad seriously. It was pretty much all just ridiculous ideas and borderline madness to do the things he did. It did, however, make me interesting and when I started school I was the center of attention._

_It was only natural I suppose. I was tall, handsome and when you start training with swords at the age I did, you also become very fit. It hardly hurt that the medieval clothes my mother made me wear also made me, I quote the girls in my former class, “deliciously hot”._

_What can I say? I was born lucky._

_Everything I did was cool, I was the trendsetter. No one ever accused me of being nerdy or dorky even when mom forced me into traditional clothes, even though I looked like a leprechaun, because I was a_ hot _leprechaun. Believe me, it makes all the difference._

_Anyway, it wasn’t until I became like 15 or something that I started to totally ignore dad and his ideas. I still couldn’t escape the camping, but I didn’t exactly but my soul into it, so to speak. He became pretty pissed about it, but I still kept my sword skills in check and I still had to go through the survival exercising so he didn’t bother me too much about it._

_Johanna was not as rebellious and she never took sides. Not once did she look at me the same way mom and dad did sometimes, as if I was spiting them. Which I might have sometimes, but that’s not the point. The point was that I wanted to live my life the way I wanted and Johanna was the only one who never blamed me for it while at the same time she never blamed our parents either. She had the same mindset as mom, which basically was peacekeeping until the end, but without moms biases against a total modern lifestyle. I might now have understood it fully then, but she was the most precious person I my life._

_I still don’t really agree with them, but I suppose I can’t begrudge dad for it anymore. Not after that catastrophic midsummer. Suddenly everything I never understood about dad fell into place and by then I was too stunned to be angry._

* * *

“No I don’t know who the other one was, I haven’t even found my brother-… well how am I supposed to know that like I said; I have no clue where he is, much less which bridge is closest-… then just send people to both of them, I don’t care, just do somethi-… okay, thank you, I’ll keep in touch-… no, could you give them my number instead? I don’t exactly have the means to write it down-… thanks again”, when the conversation was over Johannes slipped his phone into his back pocket and returned he attention to the situation ahead. He easily slid down the side of the bridge and followed the sound of Johanna’s voice. His heart sank at the realization that Ivar was not in safety yet.

“Johanna!” he shouted lightly as he came up behind her, “have you seen him?”

“No,” Johanna replied, wincing visibly while doing so, “have you called 112? I forgot my phone I-…”

“I’ve called,” he cut her off, “I told them to go up ahead and keep in touch.”

If Johanna was slighted by him interrupting her talking, she did not show it but instead turned her head to the water again.

“Right,” she breathed, “that’s good.”

“let’s hurry then,” Johannes said and started to jog again, following the stream.

Johanna sighed before following him.

They hurried for a time that felt like hours and suddenly Johannes noticed that the darkness of night had fallen upon them. He did not think much of it and ignored Johanna’s obvious discomfort by simply pulled out his phone, using it was a flashlight. He did not notice how the sound of the water changed or how the trees thinned out, nor did he notice how the terrain under his feet changed from uneven moss and stone to firmer ground and grass. It was not until he turned around to see why Johanna had turned so silent that he realized she was no longer behind him, had he really run that fast? No, that cannot be… at the same time the other realizations came with crashing force. _What the hell was going on here?!_

He found himself standing in front of a big lake with many hills surrounding it. This was certainly not anywhere near their home and _where in the world was Johanna?! Where was his sister?!_ His head snapped to all directions but he could not see her anywhere. “JOHANNA!” he roared, his voice drenched in worry, “JOHANNA!”

 _Shit,_ was the only thought that ran through his mind as he turned around to look for his twin. _Shit, shit, shit, shit!_

The only thing that kept the young man from cursing out loud was his mother and father’s constant lessons of behaved language, which he found extremely ironic seeing as was rebellious in pretty much everything else. 

A twig broke.

“Johanna?” he asked, “Is that you?” hesitantly he advanced to where the sound had come from and carefully passed a tree.  

* * *

What was going on and where was Johanna!? I hadn’t realized it before, but so much was wrong! It was midsummer for goodness sake, and the lived in north Sweden, _the night is sunny during midsummer, not dark._ How had I not realized that! I even used my phone as a flashlight, how did-… no, it didn’t matter. Everything was wrong.

I stayed hidden behind one of the trees and a few bushes. There was someone, or something close by and I was certain it wasn’t Johanna – she would have shouted back or at least shown herself. No, this was something else and the thought that Johanna might have been found by that something filled me with fear. _Shit._

What was I going to do? I had shouted, pretty much roared out my presence to anyone within quite some hearing distance. I grimaced; I did not wish to be found by unknown things in an unknown place. I looked up at the tree and saw that it would be fine to climb, that would have to do. The leaves were thick and I was pleased to discover that I would be hard to see unless someone stood right under the tree and looked straight up.

I hunched down on one of the branches and listened carefully. I could hear soft words being spoken from the direction I had heard the twig break and equally soft steps. There were men ahead, at least three of them. I couldn’t see them yet, but I could hear them getting closer, no doubt looking for the source of the shouting – me.

They got closer and soon I could see them through the leaves. Well as well one can see people in the dark anyhow. They wore medieval clothes and _swords?!_ If I hadn’t been scared to my wits, I probably would have groaned. Why was it always medieval? Couldn’t it be renaissance or Victorian for _once?!_

My thoughts were interrupted when I finally could hear them speak, but it was not what they said that shocked me as much as what language they used to say it. They spoke dad’s language. No one spoke dad’s language, it wasn’t even a real language for goodness sake!

“ _I am certain it was here,”_ one voice said softly, his voice deep, “ _he is most likely companion to the other one_.” 

Wait, the other one? All I wanted to do was to jump down and demand to know what they meant with that. Had they found Johanna? I gritted my teeth; I hated this feeling of helplessness.

“ _Oh, he is here alright,”_ one of the others stated amusingly, “ _I do believe he is right in that tree over there.”_

My breath got caught in my throat.

“ _Don’t look Balduin,”_ the third one reprimanded the first, “ _we do not wish to alarm him; he already thinks we mean him harm.”_

Hah… they didn’t realize I understood what they were saying. It felt very odd to hear them speak, I almost became light headed, but from what they were saying… they didn’t mean me harm then? What about Johanna though, talk about the other one, come on!

“ _Yes, the other one did not react so well did he,”_ the second said wryly, “ _we cannot linger long however, the night is upon us, soon it will not be safe to be here.”_

“ _Well, at least we found this one,”_ the one calledBalduin said, “ _If we can reason with him, we hopefully can take both of them back to safety.”_

 _“I certainly hope so,”_ the third one, “ _otherwise we will have to leave them.”_

 _“Do not worry Angrim,”_ the second out in, _“I am sure I will be able to convince him._ ”

“ _If you say so, Thangurdir,”_ Angrim replied wearily, “ _do not think you can force him though, I will not have you climb up and drag him down.”_

 _“Of course my friend,”_ and with those words being said I could hear him walk towards my hiding place until he stood right underneath it and looked straight up. I met his gaze immediately. I was never going to hide in a tree again, they were so unreliable.

He smiled friendly and said something in another language. I furrowed my brows in confusion, why did he think I would understand _that?_ He, Thangurdir or whatever his name was, looked at me as if he expected me to say something in reply. I considered for a moment to reply in dad’s language, the one that they seemed to know so well, but my tongue got stuck in my mouth. Understanding was one thing, but speaking it? No, I had always avoided speaking in that weird way. Where was Johanna when you need-… oh yeah, right, probably in hiding, but much better hiding.

Thangurdir said something again but this time he didn’t smile as much. He looked at me as if he was trying to study me, which I found a bit weird, but then he suddenly turned to his companions, _“I do not believe he understands the common tongue,”_ he said, “ _it might explain why the other one did not even give us a chance, he did not understand us either.”_

 _“_ Ehh… _I understand_ … _this,”_ I pressed out the words and then grimaced at the sound of them. I had a horrible accent.

Thangurdir’s head snapped back at me, his surprise evident in his face, “ _You speak Sindarin?”_ he asked.

What in the world was sindarin? “Ehh… _I speak_ … hm… _this… yes?”_ if my stuttering counted as speaking that is.

“ _You are a child of man that speaks the language of the elves,”_ the man mused slowly, “that is most unusual, come down and we will speak more.”

What was he babbling about, was he being serious? “Ehh… no.”

 _“What do you mean ‘no’,”_ Thangurdir asked slightly annoyed, somehow the revelation that I spoke their language made him bolder _“you are a youngling and so is your companion, at least share our camp for the night, surely you understand it would be much safer for you.”_

I would have given him a perfectly good explanation of why I did not think it would be safer, but I couldn’t find the words for it. Literally.

Thangurdir did not seem to take my silence lightly and all of a sudden he the tree as if to climb it. “ _I am not leaving you out here, you can be suspicious of us all you like in the morning.”_

“ _Thangurdir!”_ Angrim barked _, “What did I tell you!”_

Angrim’s protest came too late however as Thangurdir already had climbed up the first branch. I reacted by trying to kick him down again. “ _You hear him!”_ I cried out, “ _Go down_!” I aimed for his face, but he dodged and grabbed my foot instead.

 _“Not without you,”_ he said and with a swift movement he pulled me down from my branch. I didn’t have time to react before he had an arm around my waist and jumped down to the ground. He was insanely strong. I was a 19 year old 6’2” young _man,_ not a child, and I wasn’t a lightweight either, I had muscle, but still I couldn’t get out of that man’s grip.

When we got to the ground he released his hold of my waist and held me still by my arms from behind instead. _“Calm down,”_ he sighed as I tried to break loose _, “we are not your enemies.”_

 _You certainly could have fooled me_ , I thought sourly.

 _“Thangurdir,”_ Angrim looked as if he was about to say more, but stopped when he saw my face. I glared at him angrily and still tried to struggle, but Thangurdir wouldn’t budge.

 _“He speaks Sindarin,”_ Thangurdir said simply, as if that answered all questions, _“How many people speak Sindarin Angrim?”_

“ _Let me go!”_ I growled, not liking where this conversation was going.  

Angrim gave me and Thangurdir an odd look before addressing his other companion, _“Balduin, take a look.”_

Balduin did as Angrim asked and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when a crease appeared between his brows as his eyes drifted back and forth between me and Thangurdir. _“We had better head back to camp I think,”_ he murmured after a while and turned around stiffly. Angrim nodded and also gestured for Thangurdir to come, me with him of course. I started to panic, what about Johanna!?

“ _My friend, what you do about…-“,_ I resisted the urge to cry when I couldn’t find the right words. What right did they have to do this?

 _“Do not worry, he has been watching_ ,” Thangurdir murmured behind me, _“he will show up soon enough.”_

I found myself wishing she wouldn’t. How knew what they would do when they found out she was a girl! I wouldn’t have been half as worried had it not been for the fact that Johanna was a girl, and a rather attractive one at that. Most guys were too intimidated to approach her though and I had always preferred it that way. These were no mere boys though, these were real men and no matter how strong and cunning Johanna was, she would not stand a chance against all of them. _Shit._

I needed to warn her, and I did the only thing I could think of, I shouted it out. “DON’T COME OUT! STAY IN THE TREES AND I’LL COME BACK AS SOON AS I CA-…” a hand promptly shut me out.

 _“Are you insane, boy?!”_ Thangurdir hissed in my ear, _“have you any idea what kind of vile creatures might roam these parts at this time? If you had shouted just a little bit louder I wager they could have heard you all the way to Mordor!”_

It was at that moment, when the three men’s attention for a millisecond was turned only to me that Johanna chose to make her appearance, and I didn’t know whether to cheer her on or groan. She was swift as a shadow as she jumped down from a tree right in front of them and aimed for Angrim and Balduin as they walked next to each other. They were surprisingly, perhaps mostly to themselves, caught off guard and Johanna took that moment to swirl around and tear me away from Thangurdir.

The three men reacted quickly by standing up but none of them drew their swords as Johanna pushed me behind herself and pulled forth two sharp daggers. She was standing in a fighting position but did not move as she eyed the tree men in front of her.

“Where did you get those?!” I inquired, while Balduin at the same time exclaimed, “ _those are my daggers!”_  

Johanna did not answer either one of us but still looked intensively ahead, “ _who are you and what do you want?”_ she asked sharply.

 _“We are  Rangers of the North,”_ Angrim was the first to react and calmly replied, _“we do not want anything but your own safety, if you do not wish to follow us, then you do not have to, but beware of the dangers you will put yourself in.”_

I wanted to ignore the warning but part of me, and probably a big part of Johanna too, knew he was telling the truth. The dilemma was simply to decide was more dangerous; to trust three strangers or to put themselves in the mercy of the wilds. Neither seemed like a good alternative. They did not seem to look at Johanna with any unsavory thoughts though, and that did work in their favor.

 _“It did not seem as if my brother had much of a choice_ ,” Johanna said and turned her gaze at Thangurdir. Thangurdir however looked as if he had seen a ghost as his eyes settled upon me. I did not understand his reaction and judging by the increasing crease between her brows neither did my twin. At the sound of her voice Thangurdir did look up and met her glare and he looked even paler than before.

In the distant, but still not distant enough, they could hear wolves howl.

Angrim eyes met Johanna’s again, _“we need to leave now, make your choice.”_

“Johannes,” I looked at my sister, but she still had her eyes fixed on the strangers, “I don’t think we can survive well on our own.”

I nearly did not recognize her, when did she get that _hard?_ I swallowed nervously, but knew she was right, “me neither.”

“We will go with them, but never let your guard down,” she tossed one of the daggers to the ground by my feet without looking and I quickly picked it up, “ _we will come, but we will keep the daggers until tomorrow.”_

Both Angrim and Balduin observed her silently, probably to deem if it was worth the risk or if they should just leave us. Then Balduin sighed and nodded in agreement at Angrim, it was his daggers after all. _“Very well,”_ Angrim said, _“however while we ride you will keep your hands visible at all times.”_

 _“Agreed,”_ she said and then took a step back to stand beside me, “remember: guard up.”

My mouth was dry and my tongue didn’t want to cooperate, so I only nodded silently.

Then we started to walk towards the horses, every single one of us guarding the other party carefully.

* * *

 

When we reached the camp we were met by yet two more rangers. One was holding watch and greeted them with slight curiosity but did not ask any questions. The other one was sitting by the fire tending to a pot of soup. I tensed as we entered the small encampment and glanced at Johanna. Her expression was blank but her hand rested on the tilt of the dagger, revealing her distrust.

When we were given blankets to sleep with Johanna gestured for me to sit down by the fire and then sat down beside me. “You sleep first”, she said, “I will wake you up when I need sleep, use my lap as a pillow until then.”

I wanted to protest. I was her brother, I was a _man,_ but she was being too much like father and I knew there was little use to argue with her. “Are you sure?” I still asked hesitantly even though all I wanted was to lie down and rest, forgetting about the unbelievable but undeniably things that had happened this day.

Johanna gave me her gentle smile before returning her gaze to the fire, “I can’t sleep yet, my body is still pumping adrenaline.”

“Slightest worry and you’ll wake me, okay,” I ordered, trying to mimic our father’s tone, but my voice was raspy and I knew I sounded more like a tired child.

“I will,” she said simply, “now sleep.”

As I fell asleep my dreams were filled with images of a drowning Ivar and a crying Therese. It wasn’t a very restful sleep but it peacefully ended my first meeting with Rangers of the North, a people I later got to know as the Dunedain.    


	4. Prologue, Johanna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sindarin will be written in cursive   
> Swedish will be written normally

_I love my family. It was very simple really. I didn’t mind them doing whatever they wanted to do or even whatever they wanted me to do, because all I wanted was for them to be happy._

_I didn’t mind training with dad and learning about old methods of healing, surviving or even the weapons training. It was good training and great distractions from reality. I didn’t mind that dad always preferred to teach Johannes but sometimes had to be content with me._

_I didn’t mind when mom smiled at me apologetic every time I wished to speak with her but couldn’t because she was too busy with my siblings or the museum. I didn’t mind that she thought I didn’t need her anymore because I was 19._

_I didn’t mind that I was considered disgusting by the boys in school because of my muscle and independent approach. I didn’t mind Johannes was friends with them or that everyone loved him while they only came to me when they needed help._

_I didn’t mind because I was good at not minding. I was good at hiding the hurt and I was good at helping. I never spoke out because even when I did it was as if I was screaming in the desert – no one heard me anyway, it was just straining my voice. You cannot force people to notice you, or to love you, because if you could it wouldn’t mean anything. Love is a delicate thing closely related to freedom. If it is not freely given, it’s worthless._

_I didn’t mind though, because I loved all of them and I gave them my love freely. I didn’t help people because I expected anything in return after all. I did it because it was the right thing to do. Peace is always something to thrive for. Anger and grudges never lead to anything good, so I learned to let the negative feelings wash away every time I cried. It left only sadness, and a little sorrow maybe, but at least I could still keep on being helpful and kind._

_So I didn’t mind that I wasn’t popular or that dad never really acknowledged my abilities with the sword and bow, because I knew my abilities and my potential. I enjoyed learning and I knew I was good at it. I liked to know that I could comfort people with simple things like kind words and with my dad I could always speak with him on his native language which always seemed to calm him down when nothing else could._

_I never asked why no one else seemed to know of that language. They only said it was a minority language from Africa. It was pure bull of course, but compared to the truth it certainly was more believable. I mean, no one would believe that he spoke a language from another world. I wouldn’t have either, if it hadn’t been for that midsummer evening when I first saw it for myself._

* * *

“Johanna!” Johannes came up behind her, “have you seen him?”

“No,” she replied, “have you called 112? I forgot my phone I…-“

“I’ve called, I told them to go up ahead and keep in touch,” he cut off.

Johanna felt a surge of annoyance at his rudeness but quickly pushed it away, he was probably just worried, “Right, that’s good,” she said instead, and turned her attention to the water again. She was good at hiding her thoughts, and being upset would help finding Ivar at all.

“Let’s hurry then,” Johannes said and started to jog again, following the stream.

She sighed wearily before following him. It was always tiring to be with Johannes. He was always too quick to react without thinking and never considered that his nonchalant attitude might actually hurt someone. He was however also her twin brother, thus she followed him anyway, without saying a word.

* * *

When they had hurried along the bank for a while Johanna started to feel uncomfortable. She noticed the sky getting darker, which she found very alarming, and the water was swirling in wild circles. Johannes only picked up his phone as a flashlight, and all she wanted was to snap at him to observe his surroundings better, but she found she had more pressing matters to attend to.

She quit walking and watched the water warily; she had never seen it behaving that way. Her stomach twisted painfully when the swirling suddenly stopped but the stream-... no, the _river_ , was flowing in the opposite direction than it had before.

Her whole body jerked at the realization and immediately her head snapped in Johannes direction to tell him of her disturbing discovery, only to find him gone. Where did he go?! “Johannes?” she asked, but she did not dare to shout. They, or at least she, were not home anymore. The forest had thinned down significantly and the some trees that were near were not at all the same kind of trees as home. Gone were the endless amount of pine trees and present were some sort of leaf trees that Johanna had never seen before. This was a dangerous situation and Johannes was nowhere near her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance: that fool had just kept walking when she had stopped.

She regarded her surroundings with caution and slowly backed away from the river towards a big tree. Somewhere beyond the assembling trees she could hear horses and voices. Carefully she leaned her back to the tree and peeked over her shoulder. Very true to her assumption there were three men riding calmly upstream. It was hard to see clearly in the dark but it was still easy to notice they were wearing medieval inspired clothing. She leaned to the side a bit more to see better but abruptly jolted back when one of the men turned his head her way. Had he seen her? The sudden silence that met her ears decided yes. _Shit._

Her heart beat hard in her chest as she heard him leave his saddle. What was she supposed to do now? She did not want to lead them to Johannes, they had swords for goodness sake, but she most certainly did not wish to be found by them either.

 _If the enemy knows where you are, you move until you either throw them off, or find a place to hide until they think you’ve thrown them off._ Her father’s words rang clearly in her mind and she stuffed her braid inside her shirt and pulled up the hood. The man stood still by his horse and shouted something, but she did not understand the language. This only strengthened her desire to get away.

She decided to run down streams. It worried her to put more space between her and Johannes, but she always put her family first and if running the other way might lead the strangers away from him she would do it. 

She took a deep breath and then sprinted.

To make it difficult for the men to see her clearly she sometimes ducked under a bush or took a zig-zag pattern between leaf filled trees. The one who had jumped off his horse shouted after her but did not seem to attempt to follow her more than a few steps. It both made her relieved but at the same time worried. Johannes was not known for his discretion and she had no doubt that they would find him in no time, were they given the chance. One of them had even noticed her in that distance which meant they were well aware of their surroundings.

When she was certain they no longer could see her, or paid her any heed, she stopped behind a large mossy rock. She would have to turn back for her brother, but this time she knew what targets to avoid.

Johanna had always praised herself for her sneaking skills, even though it was something people rarely had use for in modern society. Therese was a natural and by far the best of the siblings with her nimble body and agility, but Johanna was a close second. Despite her muscle and 6’ length she was an expert at moving silently.

She thanked God she had chosen to wear her dark jeans and black shirt to the meet-up, and even more thankful that she had chosen her black sneakers. They had been cheap but they were light and easy to sneak in. Absentmindedly she wondered if that was why they were called sneakers in the first place.

* * *

I had to stay on a safe distance so they wouldn’t notice me. I think they knew, or at least suspected, I was still creeping around, but their subtle tries to find me with their eyes revealed they didn’t know my location. I was madly thankful for the darkness that skillfully hid me from their sight.

My plan to quickly find Johannes and keep us both hidden until the light came was however ruined the moment I heard my name being called out, or more correctly: roared.

_That idiot!_

I clenched my jaw painfully to stop myself from answering. It was also annoying to imagine that he had not realized I was gone any sooner than that, The men naturally stopped their horses again and looked at each other before stepping down to investigate. I hoped Johannes would quickly realize his mistake and quickly hide before they found him, but of course he did not. When he called my name the second time from somewhere further ahead of me, probably still by the river, all I wanted to do was to slap him.

One of the men bound the horses to a nearby tree within seeing distance and then joined the others. I helplessly saw as they got closer to where Johannes voice had come from and desperately tried to figure out what to do.

They were distracted now, which was a good thing for me, and I looked at the abandoned horses. If even one of them turned around they would have noticed me right away sneaking up to the animals, but then, what did I have to lose?

Making my decision quickly I moved softly behind the trees and closer to horses and by that also closer to the men. The closer I got the harder did my heart beat. I wasn’t like Therese; I did not enjoy taking risks. I preferred the safe distance and to solve problems by waiting and patience rather than headstrong plans and strategies. There was little I could do by holding my distance however and the time was short.

To my great relief none of them looked back, but I found myself being awkwardly watched by the three horses.

I stopped in my tracks. It seemed as if they were studying me. For a brief moment I thought they were going to start thrashing around and alert their masters of my presence, but then suddenly they just lost interest and began to munch grass instead. I slowly advanced.

On one of the horses there was a two fairly big daggers attached to the saddle. They were beautifully carved but I didn’t have the time to admire them as suddenly the men started to talk. The sound of voiced so close startled me and I hurriedly grabbed the daggers and hid behind the tree the horses were bound to.   

“ _I am certain it was here,”_ one voice said softly, his voice deep, “ _he is most likely companion to the other one_.” 

They spoke dad’s language? The revelation shocked me more than I think anything had before. _No one_ spoke dad’s language;it had always been unknown and a mystery even if mom constantly assured us it was an old African minority language. It had never sounded African and it would never sound African because here I was listening to people speaking it and I was most certainly not in Africa. 

“ _Oh, he is here alright,”_ one of the others stated amusingly, “ _I do believe he is right in that tree over there.”_

My breath got caught in my throat. I could not see it from where I stood, but it did not surprise me he had tried to hide in a tree. I would have done the same, probably, but minus the yelling.

I forced my stiff limbs to move as I thought out what to do next. They knew where Johannes was, but they did not know I was this close. I had to use that to my advantage. They guessed he was my “companion”, which was true, so they probably also suspected I’ll come back for him, but hopefully they would not expect me to show up in front of them.

“ _Don’t look Balduin,”_ the third one reprimanded the first, “ _we do not wish to alarm him; he already thinks we mean him harm.”_

Carefully I crept from tree to tree to get closer to the men, but I made sure only to move while someone was talking.

“ _Yes, the other one did not react so well did he,”_ the second said wryly, “ _we cannot linger long however, the night is upon us, soon it will not be safe to be here.”_

“ _Well, at least we found this one,”_ the one calledBalduin said, “ _If we can reason with him, we hopefully can take both of them back to safety.”_

 _“I certainly hope so,”_ the third one, “ _otherwise we will have to leave them.”_

I heard what they said, but I was too tense and frightened to fully understand it. They did say they only wanted to help us and they didn’t even know both of us understood them, maybe… but no, I wasn’t quite willing to take that risk as of yet.  

 _“Do not worry Angrim,”_ the second out in, _“I am sure I will be able to convince him._ ”

I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that.

“ _If you say so, Thangurdir,”_ Angrim replied wearily, “ _do not think you can force him though, I will not have you climb up and drag him down.”_

I felt a small bell in my head ring at the sound of his name. Thangurdir… I had heard something similar once, but I couldn’t quite remember when or what had been said. It was so familiar but my thoughts were interrupted by the owner of the name in question.

 _“Of course my friend,”_ Thangurdir assured him.

Angrim seemed most reasonable and I got a slim hope that maybe they’d just leave us alone, especially if they didn’t wish to force us. I didn’t dare to turn my head and look over my shoulder this time, I was too close, but I tried to listen as closely as possible. I hoped Johannes remembered more of dad’s native tongue than he always pretended.

Thangurdir said something I couldn’t quite hear but somehow it sounded almost as a totally different language. Furrowed my brows, somehow he was under the impression that me and Johannes would understand that language instead of dad’s, did that mean that dad’s language was uncommon here too? Was absolutely nothing at all common or normal about our dad? Seriously.

Thangurdir said something again and when Johannes didn’t answer, or at least I didn’t hear him answer anything, the man turned his head to his two companions, _“I do not believe he understands the common tongue,”_ he said, “ _it might explain why the other one did not even give us a chance, he did not understand us either.”_

I paused for a moment. Would I have given them a chance had I understood what he had been shouting? Probably not.

 _“_ Ehh… _I understand_ … _this,”_ I suddenly heard Johannes press out. I grimaced at the sound of it, he had a horrible accent and I wasn’t sure I was happy or not that he revealed what could have been an enormous advantage. 

“ _You speak Sindarin?”_ Thangurdir exclaimed. 

“Ehh… _I speak_ … hm… _this… yes?”_ I wanted to face palm, he was really bad at this. 

“ _You are a child of man that speaks the language of the elves,”_ the man mused slowly, _“that is most unusual, come down and we will speak more.”_

“Ehh… _no_.”

 _Really?_ The guy was babbling about elves and sindarin and whatever, and all he had to say was ‘ehh… _no_ ’? I felt myself grow more and more frustrated. I hated situations like these. I wished I had been the one up in the tree rather than Johannes because at least I would have been able to say something remotely intelligent and maybe gotten them to leave us alone. Johannes however only managed to bait the man.

 _“What do you mean ‘no’,”_ Thangurdir asked slightly annoyed, reflecting pretty well what I felt at the moment even though it annoyed me even more that the man had gotten bolder after knowing Johannes understood _sindarin,_ _“you are a youngling and so is your companion, at least share our camp for the night, surely you understand it would be much safer for you.”_

I wanted to ask how exactly they knew _I_ was young, but naturally I refrained. Johannes however did not seem to see it fit to say anything at all or he just couldn’t formulate a whole sentence. I guessed it was the later. Thangurdir did unfortunately not seem to take his silence lightly and all of a sudden I could hear the sound of scrapping again wood and a frustrated: “ _I am not leaving you out here alone, you can be suspicious of us all you like in the morning.”_

Uh oh, I did not like what this was sounding like. Was he seriously going to…? This man was even worse than dad!

“ _Thangurdir!”_ Angrim barked _, “What did I tell you!”_

Yes, I thought, he definitely was.

I used the temporary disorder to my own benefit by grabbing a branch above my head and unnoticed swing myself up the tree I was standing behind. The daggers were uncomfortably strapped inside my belt.    

“ _You hear him!”_ I heard Johannes cry out childishly, “ _Go down_!”

 _“Not without you,”_ I heard the man say and suddenly I saw how he jumped down the tree with Johannes kicking and shouting under his arm. I was shocked, Johannes was no little baby after all, but once again I used the mayhem to position myself more comfortably on a steadier branch further up and ready to launch myself at anyone walking by. I did not like this one bit.

When were safely on the ground Thangurdir released his hold of Johannes waist and instead held him still by gripping his arms from behind, _“Calm down,”_ the older man sighed as my brother tried to break loose _, “we are not your enemies.”_

I wasn’t convinced yet.

 _“Thangurdir,”_ I felt a flare of hope when I heard Angrim’s voice; he was the one who had been against forcing us after all. It seemed as if he was going to say something more, which had hoped would be a scolding, but the moment he got a clear sight of Johannes face, he stopped. Johannes only response was to glare at him angrily and to struggle, but Thangurdir wouldn’t budge.

 _“He speaks Sindarin,”_ Thangurdir said simply, as if that answered all questions, _“How many people speak Sindarin Angrim?”_

Those were good questions that I too wanted the answer to. Maybe dad… no, I couldn’t make such assumptions just yet. 

“ _Let me go!”_ Johannes growled, and I had to agree with him, this conversation did not seem to work in our favor and I did not quite like the way Angrim studied both Thangurdir and Johannes with an odd look. I only saw the back of their heads so I couldn’t see what was so interesting.    

Angrim then addressed the third companion, _“Balduin, take a look.”_

Take a look at _what?!_ I wanted to scream, but I stayed calm as always. I was good at staying calm.

Balduin did as Angrim asked and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when a crease appeared between his brows as his eyes drifted back and forth between Johannes and Thangurdir. _“We had better head back to camp I think,”_ he murmured after a while and turned around stiffly. Angrim nodded and also gestured for Thangurdir to come, Johannes with him of course. I tensed this was it; I would have to act soon.  

“ _My friend, what you do about…-“,_ Johannes tried to ask. I encouraged him in my head. I wanted him to create a good diversion for me, something to make them less aware of the things around them for just for half a second.

 _“Do not worry, he has been watching_ ,” Thangurdir murmured behind me, _“he will show up soon enough.”_

That I certainly would, but hopefully not when they’d expect it. They also though I was male, which was good, but I wouldn’t be able the truth long. It hadn’t occurred to me earlier the dangers of being a woman surrounded by strong male strangers, and a little strand of fear settled in my stomach. I ignored it though, I always did, Johannes was more important. I could endure, even though he could be an ass, because he was my brother and I loved him. I just needed one tiny, tiny little…-

“DON’T COME OUT! STAY IN THE TREES AND I’LL COME BACK AS SOON AS I CA-…” 

 _“Are you insane, boy?!”_ Thangurdir hissed in his ear, _“have you any idea what kind of vile creatures might roam these parts at this time? If you had shouted just a little bit louder I wager they could have heard you all the way to Mordor!”_

_Bingo._

It was at that moment, when the three men’s attention for a millisecond was turned only to my twin that I made my appearance and I threw caution to the wind as I never had before. I hated fighting and hurting others, I much preferred civilized talk, but I would not be light to these people because Johannes was being held and I wanted him free. I swiftly jumped down from my hiding place right on top of Angrim and Balduin as they walked next to each other. They were successfully caught off guard and in the blink of an eye I took that moment to swirl around and tear Johannes away from Thangurdir.

Thangurdir let go almost immediately and I suspected it was either because of the surprise or because he did not wish to provoke further. Perhaps it was a combination of both.   

The three men reacted quickly by standing up but none of them drew their swords as I promptly pushed a stunned Johannes behind myself and pulled forth the daggers. I stood ready in a firm fighting position eyeing the tree men in front of me. I did not wish to fight, so I did not engage.  

“Where did you get those?!” I heard Johannes squeak behind my back, while Balduin at the same time exclaimed, “ _those are my daggers!”_  

I didn’t bother to answer either one of them but still looked intensively ahead, I had more important things to attend to “ _who are you and what do you want?”_ was the first thing I wanted to know.

 _“We are  Rangers of the North,”_ Angrim was the first to react and calmly replied, _“we do not want anything but your own safety, if you do not wish to follow us, then you do not have to, but beware of the dangers you will put yourself in.”_

I knew he was telling the truth but the problem was that I didn’t know what kind of dangers might await us. It was cold, that much I could easily tell even though my adrenaline allowed me to ignore it for now and that could be dangerous enough, but what if there were wild animals around as well? It was a tough dilemma, to either trust complete strangers or to put oneself in nature’s mercy. They didn’t seem to mean harm but looks could be deceiving, but they had also claimed to only wanting to help them even when they weren’t aware we understood them which worked in their favor.  

 _“It did not seem as if my brother had much of a choice_ ,” I replied coolly, trying to judge their characters more closely. I gave Thangurdir a blank look which I hoped would make him a bit remorseful at least. Thangurdir however looked as if he had seen a ghost as his eyes settled upon Johannes. I did not understand his reaction and it disturbed me slightly, but then he registered my words and when his eyes settled upon me, he paled even more. I wasn’t sure at all if I liked this. He reminded me of dad, but much scruffier and unshaven. 

In the distant, but still not distant enough, we could hear wolves howl. Great, there are dangerous animals close.  

Angrim eyes met mine again, _“we need to leave now, make your choice.”_

“Johannes,” I addressed my brother, still having my eyes fixed on the strangers, “I don’t think we can survive well on our own.”

I barely recognized the sound of my own voice. It was hard and cold, but I didn’t care. I always took such care when choosing my word and tone, but this was too serious, I would worry about Johannes feelings later, when we were safe. I awaited his response, even though I knew what it would be. He never admitted it out loud, which I sometimes wished he would, but he knew very well that I rarely was wrong in my assessments.

“Me neither.” He said softly.

“We will go with them, but never let your guard down,” I ordered and tossed one of the daggers to the ground by his feet without looking, I could hear him quickly picking it up. Then I turned my head back to Angrim, “ _we will come, but we will keep the daggers until tomorrow.”_  

Both Angrim and Balduin observed me silently, probably to deem if it was worth the risk or if they should just leave us. Then Balduin sighed and nodded in agreement at Angrim, it was his daggers after all. _“Very well,”_ Angrim said, _“however while we ride you will keep your hands visible at all times.”_

 _“Agreed,”_ I said, it was a reasonable request, and then I took a step back to stand beside my twin, “remember”, I said in Swedish, “guard up.”

He only nodded in response.

Then we started to walk towards the horses, every single one of us guarding the other party carefully.

* * *

The ride was awfully awkward as we had to share the horses. I had to sit behind Angrim and Johannes was offered to ride with Balduin. It was the first time I had been so close to someone of the male gender except my close family and to hold is waist made me extremely uncomfortable.  

Then there was the issue of Thangurdir’s strange behavior. It worried me slightly, but it made me think. His eyes looked haunted, even though he tried to hide it. I wished I knew what had upset him in such manner. Every time he looked at either me or Johannes, but mostly Johannes, it looked as if he was getting sick. After a while I felt that he was trying to avoid looking at us at all. I wanted to know what it was so I could make sure it wasn’t something that would come back and bite me and Johannes before we got away from these people in the morning. 

I kept my face blank and forced myself to relax my body as we rode; I needed to keep my head straight. It was clear Johannes had already lost it. I figured he was still in shock, which wasn’t very strange really considering all that had happened, but that meant I had a double responsibility to keep us both safe. It didn’t help that we hadn’t found Ivar.

Ivar… It was extremely worrying. Had he also been thrown into this place? Or was he back home? Everything was a mess. They would have to come back tomorrow and search again, even though it might be too late by then: If Ivar was indeed here there was only a slim chance he would survive out in the wilds alone, wet and without any gear. Hopefully he was still back home, as was Therese.

I looked past Angrim’s shoulder to see where we were going. In the distance I could see the light of a small fire and I guessed that was where we were heading. A fire did however mean that there were more of them and I silently prayed they were as honest as they seemed.

* * *

When we reached the camp we were met by yet two more rangers. One was holding watch and greeted them with slight curiosity but did not ask any questions. The other one was sitting by the fire tending to a pot of soup.

Their naturally clam demeanor gave me great relief, but I refused to show it. Instead I let my hand rest easily on the tilt of the dagger. There was no reason to let them know I almost felt safe, perhaps mostly because I wasn’t sure why I felt compelled to trust them. They reminded me of dad way too much.

It was everything about them, the way they walked and talked and even smoke pipe. That was also when I realized the similarities between their clothes and what dad usually wore when we went to Gotland each year or when Fjällgård held some middle-aged-themed event. I felt a headache closing in, this was all too much.

We received two blankets from Angrim and I while I didn’t show it I was very grateful. I gestured for Johannes to sit down by the fire. “You sleep first,” I said, it was clear he needed to sleep more than I after all, “I will wake you up when I need sleep, use my lap as a pillow until then”.

His hesitation made me unwillingly happy. He was worried for my safety, and while I didn’t wish to make light of his concerns it made me happy he cared.

“Are you sure?” he asked uncertainly.

His words warmed my heart a little. He made me so angry at times, like when he cut me off when I asked if he had called for help, but at times like these I always found myself forgiving him and forgetting it like I never had happened. He was my brother, and I was his sister. He loved me just as much as I loved him.

I gave him an honest smile, “I can’t sleep yet, my body is still pumping adrenaline.”

“Slightest worry and you’ll wake me, okay,” he ordered, trying to mimic our father’s tone. I would have giggled hadn’t there been others around.

“I will,” I just said instead, “now sleep.”

He fell asleep in only a few minutes and I felt a little bit lonely again.

I didn’t dare to sleep, but what was I supposed to do? I looked at the rangers around the fire. They were all eating their soup. Angrim saw me watch them.

 _“Would you like some?”_ he asked.

“ _No, thank you,_ ” I replied. I wouldn’t be able to keep it down anyway, even though I knew I should eat while the offer stood. Angrim nodded and continued eating.

“ _You take care of your brother,”_ Balduin stated.

I didn’t like the way his tone implied Johannes was at fault. “ _We take care of each other”_ I said coldly, “ _this time he needed sleep more than I, I do not see how that is any of your concern.”_

Balduin chuckled, “ _no need to be offended, little lady, I meant no disrespect to your brother.”_

I nearly snorted, it sure didn’t sound like it and I was certainly not a _little lady._

“ _Who are you?”_ Thangurdir finally spoke up after a long time of silence, “ _I have never seen such clothing before, and your names are very unusual, not to mention your use of Sindarin.”_

All the rangers looked curious now. In the corner of my eye I could even see the one holding watch listening for my answer. I really didn’t feel like answering, but then again I had some questions too.

 _“Our father taught us,”_ I just answered, “ _we are not from around here.”_

None of them were content with that answer of course, but at the mention of dad a flicker of interest appeared in their eyes.

“ _Your father you say…”_ Angrim mused, “ _What is your father’s name? Maybe we know of him.”_

Exactly, I thought, maybe you do. I didn’t like that notion at all, but it was a possibility I couldn’t deny even if I wanted to. So many things about dad would make sense, everything he said and did… “ _Johan,”_ I replied _, “me and my bother are Johanna and Johannes, daughter and son of Johan.”_

“ _I do not know that name,”_ Angrim said with a sigh, “ _Baragund, what about you?”_

 _“No, it is not familiar to me,”_ the one who had been stirring the pot answered.

I could feel my heart beat harder. Of course they didn’t recognize the name, because it wasn’t dad’s real name. I hadn’t realized before, I hadn’t remembered, because of all the things that had been going on, but now some things became clear. I was suspecting something I felt should be impossible. Thangurdir… the name had seemed so familiar, and his face… I had to ask, I just had to. I hesitated slightly before taking a deep breath, “ _what about Thangur?”_

The reaction was immediate.

They all stiffened significantly and Balduin even dropped his pipe, but it was Thangurdir’s response that hit me most, even though I might have half suspected it would.

“ _Wha-…”_ He didn’t finish the word but simply stared. I had never seen anyone that stricken off guard before.

 _“Home he is called Johan,”_ I explained, giving them some time to gather themselves, “ _but once I heard him call himself Thangur when I was young, that is all I know.”_

 _“This is indeed interesting news,”_ Angrim murmured still visibly shaken, “ _the Thangur we knew disappeared 20 years ago.”_

I had no idea what to say, what to believe. It was all so very extremely impossible yet everything fell into place to perfectly. “I can’t believe it,” I murmured before I switched back to Sindarin, “ _what… did he look like?”_

_Angrim opened his mouth to answer me, “He was-…”_

_“…my brother.”_ Thangurdir cut off breathlessly, looking me straightly in the eyes, “ _and he looked just like you two, when he was your age.”_

I saw it too at that moment, the remarkable resemblances between Thangurdir and dad that I had denied seeing before. This could not possibly be happening.

“ _I think I need to sleep,”_ I whispered, a pounding headache and sickness had suddenly washed over me, “I really have to sleep.”

The unreality of the situation overtook me. This could not happen, this was impossible; this must have been a dream. I felt my sense of reality slipping from my grasp and I was close to panicking.

“ _Johanna,”_ Angrim’s voice brought me back to the camp, _“calm down, we will not speak more of this now, sleep, you are tired.”_

In the mist of my distress I didn’t question his request but carefully moved Johannes head from my lap and cuddled up next to him instead. Johannes was the same at least, he was a piece of reality, and I wasn’t crazy.

 _“Sleep little one,”_ I heard his voice again, but it felt so distant, and I fell into deep slumber.

My dreams were filled with vivid pictures of Thangurdir and my father. I saw them ride together in a meadow and laughing. I also saw a storming winter, wolfs and disgusting creatures that crawled the ground. At least I saw a cold, unmoving Ivar washed up a bank. I didn’t rest well that night, but it was the first time I came in contact with the Rangers of the North, the Dunedain, and apparently my long lost uncle.


	5. Prologue, Frida

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sindarin will be written in cursive   
> Swedish will be written normally

_I always tell them I do not remember a thing._

_I lie._

* * *

Frida enjoyed pretty things because of the simple reason that they were very pretty.

She loved beautifully arranged gardens that were kept neat and tidy by an adult, preferable her mother, or by Frida herself. It was important that the colors and flowers matched and to keep the weed away. She did not like being dirty, but to see the pretty result was _most_ times worth it. Besides, her mother was always so happy when she helped!

Frida also loved the pretty jewelry that was sold in the store at Fjällgårda outdoor museum. They were shiny and had pretty patterns and forms and some of the prettiest had different gems and stones in them as well. They also fit perfectly with all the beautiful dresses that her grandmother would sew and sell. It was like a fairytale, and Frida did love those.

To put it simply her favorite place in the whole wide world was her grandparents’ home and working place, Fjällgårda. It was an idyll for someone like her who valued pretty things and fairytales above everything else. She adored being there, especially with her beautiful mother, and even more especially when they held medieval events with knights, noble ladies and sometimes even elves! It was so perfect and her dear mother always made sure to dress her in the prettiest gowns and sometimes she even got to wear a circlet, if the event was more fantasy based. In Frida’s opinion she could not have a more perfect life.

At the moment she was a little bit tired though. It was late, for a six year old at least, and while it had seemed like a good idea to stay with her mother and help cleaning up after the midsummer celebrations it turned out to be quite boring and tiring. She did not want to get dirty by picking up trash from the ground and she could not be inside since they had just mopped the floor. This left her sitting alone on a bench in front of the wooden scene, guarding her mother’s purse and coat. She found herself wishing they were back home instead, where she could play with her pretty dollhouse.    

In her self-pity she was overjoyed when her she heard the familiar sound of her mother’s phone ringing. Eagerly, though a bit clumsy, she fished it out of the coat pocket and answered it. “Hello?” she chirped happily.

The reply she received was not very happy however, “Could you give the phone to mom?”

She recognized her sister’s voice immediately, but was very displeased at her impoliteness. Frida was as keen on courtesy and politeness as she was on prettiness, and she hated that Therese was the opposite and always ruined her fantasies.

“Well, I could, but she’s kinda busy,” Frida replied, also a little disappointed no one ever wanted to talk to her, “maybe you could tell me, and then I could tell mom?”

Frida thought that was a good plan, because she was extremely bored.   

Therese, as usually, did not want to comply however, “I need to talk to mom, Frida,” the sister said instead, “tell her it’s important.”

“Rude,” Frida breathed, perhaps more for herself than to Therese, but she hoped Therese heard her anyway. That girl really was a hopeless case, she thought as she strolled with the phone to their mother.

“It’s Therese,” she said, “she said it was _important”,_ but the youngest sister just thought it was ridiculous. How important could it possibly be? Frida’s annoyance was however dispatched the moment her beautiful mother turned her head towards her and gave her that radiant smile.

“Thank you honey,” Cecilia said sweetly to her daughter and received the phone.

Frida watched her mother put down the broom she was sweeping the porch with and sit down on the wooden bench on it. Her mother’s movements were slower than usual but Frida knew it was only because of the baby that was growing in her belly. It was only a month left until her little sibling would arrive and she hoped it would be a girl like her. Content not to be alone anymore she sat also sat down on the bench.

“Is something the matter sweetie?” Cecilia asked Therese through the phone.

Frida could not hear her sister’s answer, nor did she particularly care. She did however care about the increasing crease between her mother’s brows.

“Are you alright sweetie?” the concerned question caught Frida’s attention. Had something really happened? She could not hear what Therese was crying but it was clear that was what she was doing: crying.

“Therese…-“

Frida felt herself grow anxious, she did not like this. Never had she heard anyone being that upset before. She had heard people cry before of course, she had four siblings and they all had their fair share of drama, but never had she heard anyone that… anguished.

Cecilia seemed to take her daughter’s distress more calmly. Frida breathed in relief, perhaps Therese was only exaggerating after all.

“Sweetie, you stay home alright?” the mother said with composure, “I’ll be coming home right away okay, sweetie?”

Frida looked up. They were going home?

“I will, sweetheart, just keep calm and Frida and I will be right there.” The conversation ended with that and soon Cecilia stood up and turned her gaze to Frida. “We will go back home a little bit earlier, is that alright, honey?”

Frida nodded; “of course!” she had wanted to go home for the last hour after all.

* * *

Frida did not want to disturb her mother while she was driving; she was unusually quiet and seemed very concentrated. The young girl did however feel a great need to know what exactly was going on, because Therese had been awfully upset after all.

Carefully she turned to her mother, “…mom?”

“Yes, honey?” the reply was not quite as lively as Frida would have liked.

She fidgeted a little with her fingers before asking, “Why was Therese upset?”

It was silent a few moments before she got an answer, “let talk about that after we get back, okay?”

“…okay,” but Frida did not really think it was okay at all. If her mother did not wish to speak of it, it must have been very serious. The silence returned and Frida felt dreadfully uncomfortable. Usually they spoke and were happy while in the car, this was just horrible.

Cecilia must have noticed her daughters discomfort and finally offered her a comforting smile. She turned to drive into the forest road before turning to Frida, “Everything will be fine sweetie, don’t think abou-…”

Frida only heard a loud crash and felt the seatbelt tighten around her, before everything went black.

* * *

“Frida?!”

What happened?

“Frida, please!”

Why does everything hurt?

“Wake up, sweetie!”

Is that mom? I can’t see her.

“Please wake up!”

Why is she crying?

It hurt, but I was conscious. I felt a moist hand touch my chin gently. I tried to open my eyes, “mom…?”

“Frida!” she sounded happy but she was to blurry for me to see clearly. Also she was… upside down? No, wait, _I_ was upside down. “are you alright, Frida?!”

I blinked a few times and my vision cleared. She was hunching in front of the passenger seat window outside. The window was broken and the car was lying on its back. A light squeeze reminded me to answer the question. My arm hurt terribly but other than that I only felt a lingering ache in my body, and I had a slight headache. “It hurts…”

“I know sweetie,” she was crying again, “I know, but we have to get you out of the car, okay?”

I nodded. I didn’t like being upside down.

“Does your neck hurt?” she asked before reaching for my seatbelt.

“No,” my voice came out more weakly than intended.

 “Okay,” she said, more to herself than to me I think, “are you ready?”

I winced, but still nodded.

“Three… two… one!” she clicked the button and the seatbelt came of me, no longer holding me up. I shrieked more of surprise than pain, but mom caught me carefully and dragged me out of the window frame, minding the remaining pieces of glass still stuck on it.

I was a little bit dizzy but mom helped stand up and examined me for injuries. That was the first time I got a good look at her, and it was the most frightening thing I had yet ever seen. My arm might have hurt, and I might have felt dizzy, but nothing could compare to the fear and nausea I felt when I saw my mom’s blood covered face and red stained eyes. I was petrified and it did not help at all when I noticed that the moist I had felt on my cheek had also been blood – her hand and arms were all covered in cuts and sharp glass bits.

“M-mom…” my voice was only a shaky whisper, and finally she noticed my distress. Her blue eyes winded in realization and her face twisted in pain.

“I’m so sorry sweetie,” she whispered and made me turn away from her, but not before I saw new tears fall from her eyes, “I’m so, so sorry!”

“It’s okay mom…” I whimpered, trying not to cry, “it’s okay, the ambulance will come, right?”

Mom took in a shaky breath, “we need to move sweetheart,” she said, and I noticed she didn’t comment my statement, “we cannot stay here!”

“But-…”

“No buts, Frida!” She cut off harshly. I twitched at the words, she had never snapped at me like that before. She must have seen my reaction, because soon a wobbly hand was caressing my hair, “I’m sorry, but we need to hurry, please just do as I say.”

I didn’t like this new side of my mom. Her graceful movements had disappeared, her kind words were drenched in fear and her beauty was nowhere to be seen, covered in blood and dirt. She didn’t look like my mom at all; she seemed like a total stranger. I knew it was still her though, because it was, so I only nodded silently.

It was so scary; the sky was even much darker than it should. The summer was never dark, was it?

“Good,” she breathed behind me, “walk in front of me, but when we pass the car, do not look right, okay?”

Why would she say that? “Okay.”

“Good,” she said again, but like the other times it sounded more like she was talking to herself, “follow the car tracks to the road.”

I couldn’t see a road up front but the tracks ran uphill, but I assumed the road might be there, and nodded once more. I didn’t recall ever seeing this hill before however.

We passed the car and I wanted to listen to my mom, I didn’t want to look right, but how could I not when I knew there was something there?

I turned my head, and I screamed.

“NO, FRIDA!” my mom was embracing me immediately, covering the horrid sight only meters away from us, “no, no, no, no, I told you not to look,” she was crying. She hadn’t wanted me to see that, and now I knew why. It was monstrous.

On the ground lay the most disgusting sight I had seen as of yet. It was had the form of a man, barely, and it’s stank slowly reached my nose. It was dead, we had crashed into it, and its blood wasn’t even red, but black. One eye was outside its socket and it looked as if he had fallen into acid many years ago since his body was so deformed and the skin rotten. He was wearing some sort of distasteful armor with spikes and by his side was an ugly mace, not at all like the shining armors and weapons that their museum showed. 

“Don’t think about it, only keep walking, don’t look,” my mom was ranting and this time I wasn’t sure she was talking to me at all. She turned me away from the monster on the ground and stood up again. I would have asked her to carry me, but the big belly stopped me: she wouldn’t have been able to anyway.

I followed the tracks with my mom close behind me, almost pushing me forward. I just wanted this to end. My arm was hurting more and more, but I refused to look at it. I knew that if I did, it would hurt even more.

“Just a little bit more,” mom whispered behind me, “just… just a little bit,” and this time I knew she wasn’t talking to me, she was muttering and whispering all sorts of things behind me. This wasn’t my mom at all.

The worst was yet to come however: there was no road.

“No!” mom cried out, “NO!” her hand grabbed the sides of her head, gripping her red hair. I watched her, too shocked to react. She was going mad. “Frida!” she turned to me. I didn’t want her too.

“You’re real, aren’t you?” she whispered fervently, “You are, you are real, my little baby girl.”

I didn’t dare to speak as she gently took my chins in her hands, smearing them in semidried blood. I wanted to tell her this wasn’t real at all, that there was no beauty in this situation, but my voice got stuck in my throat.

There was no road and suddenly I realized that there wouldn’t be an ambulance or rescue. They were in the middle of nowhere, and my mom was going mad. I didn’t want to admit this reality, but it was more real than anything I had ever experienced in my short life. It was the first time I opened my eyes to what the world really was: ugly. Beauty and prettiness was not real, this was, and it was about to get uglier.

In some distance I could suddenly hear new unfamiliar noises. It was not nice noises either, but loud grunting and hulking steps. It sounded like a bunch of monsters approaching us. As they got closer to our whereabouts I could hear their voices, but the language they spoke was harsh and scary. 

“Oh God no,” I heard mom whimper, standing up in horror “not again, they’re not real, no, no, no…”

I was stricken with unmeasured fear, “mom?!”

Her head jerked back to me immediately and her eyes widened in some sort of realization, “My little baby girl,” she whispered, “they can’t have my little baby girl!”

Before I had time to react she had taken me in her arms and started to run.

Her steps were clumsy and unsteady but somehow she had found an unnatural strength that carried both of us forward. She tried to outrun the danger, but it was too late – they had noticed our presence.

Every second was so long, I was so present during the whole time. While she ran she did not mind my injuries and it hurt, nor did she listen to my screams. She was in her whole world, panicked, with the only goal to protect her child.

They got closer to us and I could see them over her shoulder. They were disgusting, just like the one by the car, and they were laughing and pointing at us as they pursued us. I couldn’t scream anymore, my ears went deaf and everything seemed in slow motion.

I felt myself being pushed into a narrow crack in a big rock. I wasn’t ready for it: I hadn’t even seen the slightest sight of the big ruin my mother had run into. The opening was barely big enough for me, but she pushed me deeply into the whole, and the edges ripped skin open on my arms and legs. Even my traditional dress was ruined beyond compare now.

I saw my mother being ripped away from the opening she had hidden me and I couldn’t even scream. It was worse than the most horrible nightmare, because it was real.  

Instinctively I had crawled deeper into my small den when a foul monstrous arm reached for me. The opening was much too small for any of them, but once they left me alone, for the moment at least, I still had clear sight of my mom in their wretched hands.    

“DON’T LOOK FRIDA!” my broken mother screamed, “DON’T LOOK!”

But how could I not?

I couldn’t see mom when they hovered over her, but I could see their gleeful expressions and I could hear her screams of mercy and their cruel laughter. I couldn’t keep it out: I couldn’t deny the despicable and horrible things they did to her nor could I ignore the pain it caused her. They destroyed her, they destroyed my world. All colors lost their shine and the sun lost its warmth. I only saw the night fall and the darkness grow. Soon I saw nothing but black. Soon I heard nothing but soft, broken wails. The monsters were still laughing.  

They would be coming for me too. They would break the rocks and then break me.

I had only concentrated on the weak sounds my mom made so I hadn’t noticed the swift sounds of arrows or the surprised roars that erupted amongst the monsters when they were struck down, one by one. That is, until I heard the crash of swords and battle cries.

I was at loss at what to do. Mom was still in the middle of it all, but what _could_ I do?

Suddenly everything became quiet, or rather, the monsters were quiet. They must be dead, I thought, but what had killed them?

A torch was lit and I could see two tall figures standing, they looked absolutely identical. It was too dark to see clearly even with the torch’s light, but I could see the outline of several bodies on the ground around them.

One of them hunched down and my heart started to race when I realized it was mom. She let out a moan of agony when he touched her face. She was still alive!

What were they doing?

“ _hurt-… father would-… now-…”_ one of them said, but I couldn’t understand everything. They spoke like dad?

“-… _almost two days-… must hurry-….”_ the other one replied to his companion. The first one, the one hunching, nodded and reached to lift mom.

She moaned and sobbed, but she was too weak to resist the man taking her in his arms.

They were going to take her away. Their horses walked towards them and the second one helped his companion get on a horse while holding mom.

No, they couldn’t just take her! I didn’t want to be alone, the monsters would get me.

The second was reaching for his horse. They were going to leave her, no, no, no, “ _no!”_  

My hand flew to my mouth. W _hat did I just do?!_

The reaction was immediate. Both of the men’s gazes fell directly to my hiding place in the crack. _What did I do?!_

He who had not gotten up his horse yet gave his companion a quick nod before approaching me. He was holding the torch in front of himself and soon I could see him clearly.

He was beautiful, even if he was splattered with dark blood. His skin was pale, almost glowing in the moonlight, his hair dark and his eyes light grey, but it was his ears that caught my attention the most – they were pointed.   

Stopping a meter in front of the crack he hunched and directed the torch to bring light to my den. He saw me right away, I could tell by his startled expression, and he opened his mouth to speak. _“-…Sindarin-... little one-… safe-…”_

His voice was soft, like silk, and his eyes looked kind and safe. I wanted to feel safe, I wanted to be safe. I wanted to trust him.

I couldn’t control the tears that started to run down my face, and I whispered the one sentence I’ve used on dad many times, _“help me, please?”_

The elf, because he looked exactly like a real elf I ever could imagine one before, put the torch in the ground and reached out his hand for me to grasp.

For a moment I hesitated, but then I took his hand with mine, the one on the healthy arm, and let him lead me out. This time I could avoid the sharp edges of the opening and in a second I stood right in front of him.

He gently tried my tears with his thumb and caressed my cheek, then he opened his arms _“-… carry you-… little one?”_

I closed my eyes and nodded wearily.

* * *

I couldn’t sleep while we were riding, and we did the whole night. I was numb, I felt dead. I couldn’t speak, or listen, I could barely think.

When the first light came we stopped briefly to tend to the worst injuries. Mom's little baby was dead, but I think they cleaned his small body and took him with us.  

They tried to hide mom from my sight but I had seen her. She was broken, in every meaning of the word.

I felt broken too.

My arm was cared for and I was cleaned. My elf had to help me, because I couldn’t move.

Then we rode on.

* * *

I don’t know how long we had been riding, but I was sure this sunrise was the second I had seen. Mom was getting worse, I think, she rarely made a sound now.

The elves tried heal her, but her injuries were too severe. I heard them speak to her and every time they spoke I felt a little spark of life light again. Mom didn’t though, she only turned her head and moaned.

* * *

When we reached our destination it was midday.

I was tired, but still I hadn’t been able to sleep. My whole world was dazed and the only time I felt a shimmer of hope was when one of the elves looked me in the eyes and spoke of the light. It only lasted for a moment, and it became harder and harder to understand them, but it left me with a small sense of hope.

Through my daze I could hear the faint sound of water running and falling. I could see shapes of houses and water but had to close my eyes because of the sun glare.

When we passed a bridge and approached a flight of stairs, still on the horses, I could make out two people hurrying down the staircase.

Another elf, he must have been, with long golden hair took me down from the horse and tried to speak to me. He sounded worried, but I was to weary to understand anything.

I fainted for a moment.

* * *

I woke up in a soft bed with white covers. I had a terrible headache, I wasn’t ready to wake up yet. Something had woken me up.

Opening my eyes with great effort I saw one of the-… no, not one of the identical elves that had saved me and mom, this one looked older. He looked so awfully sad, even though it was as if light shone around him. Carefully he lifted me in his arms and took me across the room to another bed.

I didn’t fully wake up until I heard my mom’s weak whisper, “Frida…”

She was lying on that bed, clean, but so terribly broken.

Her face was swollen and half of it was covered in bandages. I was glad for that, because I was certain I had seen her other eye… no, I didn’t want to remember that.

“Frida…” she whispered again, and the elf holding me put me down by the bedside gently.

I couldn’t speak, but I managed to touch her bandaged hand lightly. It had been crushed before I remembered.

“Listen Frida,” she rasped, “my precious little daughter… I’m sorry… I love you so much,” she choked before continuing, “they are kind here, stay… here… be safe… here… le-learn much… especially… language, y-your father’s language… learn, knowledge is… key… always… I lo…- love… y-you…” 

Then she died.

* * *

I prefer not to remember how I first came to Rivendell.


	6. Prologue, Thangur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sindarin will be written in cursive  
> Swedish will be written normally

_It all began with an unexpected event a late midsummer's eve._

_I was in such a hurry to get back home I did not wait for my brothers to come for me, instead I took to strife and decided to walk there on my own. It was both the worse and best decision of my life._

_How was I to know that an unexpected twist of fate that was Cecilia would turn up?_

_How was I to know that that fair auburn haired maiden running for her life from orcs was in fact a woman from another world?_

_I could not have._

_I still do not understand it, but in the end, what could I do other than simply accept it?_

_There was no way for me to get back home, or at least none I knew of, so when Cecilia and her parents offered me a place to stay and a name, I accepted. Thangur was not a common name there, but Cecilia explained to me later, when I understood enough Swedish, that she called me Johan because I had saved her, like a gift from God._

_She won my love and we married only a few months after we met._

_I remember when they were born, my precious twins. Even more so than Cecilia they were the proof that Eru stilled looked out for me. They were for me what I had been for Cecilia, they were gifts from God, so I named them Johannes and Johanna while Cecilia still was sleeping after the surgery. She was not amused when she awoke; apparently it is not common here to give twins or siblings similar names. I got my way though, and I was proud! Johannes and Johanna, son and daughter of Johan! I did not understand my wife, her family or any of our friends. I thought it sounded splendid together, not ridiculous. That was the day I accepted I would never return home, for I had a home here now, and I loved it dearly._

_My third born I had not expected either, but the joy was just as much, if not more. When she came I could not believe my eyes: red hair! Its color was even deeper than than Cecilia's. Her eyes were not green as Cecilia's though or light grey such as mine, they were like the stormy sky, a mix of dark grey and blue. Therese I named her, huntress! I could see her ride free and fearless and I promised myself I would definitely teach her to ride. She would be free as the wind and willful as the storm. I simply knew it._

_Our fourth child we were prepared for and I knew we would be a strong warrior, although I also knew there was no need to be a strong warrior in Sweden. I was delighted to have another child. Commonly my people have difficulty having more than one child, yet here I was, a proud father of_ four. _I tried to manipulate my wife into naming him what I wanted but she saw right through me, like she always did, and straight forward asked me what I wanted. His name became Ivar, meaning warrior._

_Frida was a surprise. It had passed over 6 years since Ivar was born and I had been sure there would be no more children, but I rejoiced! Of all my children she looked the most as a descendant of Númenor with her pale skin, dark hair and grey eyes. I knew right away she would become a lady._

_After twenty years the thought of going home was gone. I had a family now, and they were safe here._

_I dreamt of it sometimes of course and I missed my brother and father more than I ever wanted to admit. It was an empty space in my chest but it comforted me a great deal to speak to my children in my mother tongue._

_As the years passed my eagerness to teach my children the ways of the Dunedain settled down. There was no dangers here, no hurry._

_I regretted my idleness deeply when the next unexpected midsummer's eve took place._

* * *

Johanna did not answer her phone.

Johannes did not answer his phone.

Ivar was nowhere in sight.

Thangur was distressed, his children was beyond his reach.

It was a small comfort that Therese was home, but he worried for the others. He ran along the stream and shouted, but there was no sight of any human life. A chilling suspicion grew in his stomach.

His phone rang and a picture of his wife appeared on the screen. He answered the call immediately, "Cecilia! Have you-…"

"J-Johan…" Cecilia's voice broke and Johan felt his blood freeze, "I-… I… It's b-back!"

"What has happened?!" he asked, "Cecilia!"

On the other side of the line her voice choked before she could speak again, "the monsters… they're b-back! The c-car is broken… I don't know w-what to do!"

What happened with the car? "What happened, Cecilia? Where is Frida?!"

The woman shrieked weakly at the sound of their daughter's name, "It was standing on the road, we c-crashed, it's disgusting! Frida is in the car, she won't wake up! Johan, she won't wake up!" she started to cry loudly.

The monsters… were she speaking of _orcs?_ Could it be? Was history repeating itself? His children… no, it could not be! If it was orcs they needed to get away from there immediately. Frida… not his little girl! It could not be.

"CECILIA!" he shouted, and finally the crying stopped for a moment, "listen, love, you need to take Frida and get away from there! You need to hurry home; I will try and find you!"

"Okay," she whispered, "okay, I can do that."

"Good," Thangur replied, a little relieved she had regained her senses, "try to wake her up, she's… she's still alive, isn't she?"

"Yes," his wife breathed, "Yes, she's alive."

"Good," he let out a breath he did not know he had held, "Good, now, how does the baby feel?"

The line was silent for a while before she answered, "Fine, I think."

"Okay, that is good, Cecilia," he said, "Now you have to hurry away from there, you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," she replied, more determined this time. "I will-… mee-…y-…"

"Cecilia?" he asked in disbelief, "Cecilia?! CECILIA?!"

The connection was gone. Thangur felt himself panic, his phone had full network, why had the conversation been broken? It could not be –it _may not_ be. " _Elbereth help me!"_

He had to find his wife and youngest, he had to leave Ivar to Johannes and Johanna.

* * *

It did not take long for the man to find the crashed car, or rather, the place where the crashed car _should_ be. The tracks were clear but when he followed them he found that they ended abruptly – without any car in sight.

" _No… Valar be kind!"_ he whispered, struck with horror.

Disconcerted he looked around but he found no tracks of his wife or child. They were gone.

Thangur did not want to admit that his greatest fear might be coming true, but he had never been stupid. It was dangerous to deny what was right in front of you, even if you would prefer to assume it was only a joke or a nightmare.

Cecilia had seen an orc, that much was clear, and orcs were never alone. The helplessness that Thangur felt as he shouted and searched for his wife was unlike anything he had ever felt before. They were certainly in mortal danger, but he could do nothing about it. The forest was quiet and peaceful, as it usually was a summer evening such as this. He was at loss what to do.

Panicked he picked up his phone and once again tried to call his family.

Johannes did not answer.

Johanna did not answer.

Cecilia did not answer.

Therese did not answer.

Why did Therese not answer?

He tried to call both her phone and their home number but there was no reply.

Was no one in his family safe?

With a devastated roar at the current situation he turned around to run back to the house. He had to make sure at least Therese was safe and he hoped he might run into Cecilia and Frida on the way.

* * *

"Therese!" he shouted hoarsely as he slammed the front door open, "Therese!"

No one answered his desperate shouts but the lights were on and he found a note on the kitchen table from his third born. " _This cannot be!"_ he murmured crestfallen. Was everything against him?

He had to find them, but where was he supposed to start? They were scattered in different directions and he could not possible be at more places than one and orcs! Cecilia had hit an orc, what says the others did not? He should have stayed and searched for them, maybe whatever power that took them away would take him too. Why _had_ it not taken him too?

Never had Thangur felt such despair before, not even the time he first realized he would never get back home. His family was beyond his reach and maybe in terrible danger, and he could not even follow them.

With his heart filled with hopelessness he staggered outside, his eyes filled tears.

" _What have I done?"_ he cried out to the sky, " _what did I do to awaken your wrath that you would punish me like this?"_

His only reply was the sounds of birds singing in the distance.

" _Give them back to me!"_ he fell to his knees, " _Please… Please give them back to me!"_

He covered his face with his hands and bent forward to lower his head to the ground and cried.

In his sorrow he did not notice the sky darken and the air grow colder until minutes later.

* * *

I was pathetic, a failure.

I was supposed to be strong and secure. I was supposed to protect my family and care for them yet here I was crying on the ground like a little child that fell and scraped his knee. Here I was breaking down when I should stand up and fight for them.

Life in this world was so different from my own and it had been to very hard to find my place in it.

Even after I got married to Cecilia it had still been difficult. The roles were different, the expectations were different. I had tried to take as much responsibility as possible and support my wife but in the end she was the one how supported me. She was the one who understood this world and the language. She was the one that knew how to handle all the papers and had the education that gave her a higher wage. She was the one doing all the things my father always told me the man should do. It was my duty, and I failed miserably.

I got a job at the farm of course and I did it well. Reluctantly I had to admit that I could do little else in this strange new world. I took the chance to raise my children as much as possible the way I was raised. It was impossible of course, and many of the things that were necessary for a Dunedain was completely worthless here. It was hard to admit and in the end only Johannes and Johanna received the amount of training that was customary.

I had doomed my children the moment I assumed they had no connection to Arda whatsoever.

I had doomed Cecilia the moment I married her.

I had not only failed my duty as a husband and a father but also as a Dunedain and son.

What was I to do now if they were not brought back to me unharmed, or even at all?

Slowly I looked up from my hands.

I was not longer sitting on the ground outside out house but in the middle of wilderness, a familiar wilderness. The air was chilly against my bare arms and it was dark. The realization twisted my heart painfully with both horror and joy.

I looked up at the star filled sky. I knew those stars.

Standing up I looked around. I knew this ground and I knew those mountains in the distance.

Closing my eyes I could hear the sound of the river running. I knew that river, the loud waters was unmistakable. " _Bruinen",_ I whispered, scarcely believing my own senses. I was so close to _home_ and so close to _help._ My kinsmen would help me find my family, I was certain of it. The children were also descendants of Númenor after all.

Without a second thought I ran to my goal.

* * *

The scouts had noticed me and suddenly I hesitated.

I knew they would not approach me unless I showed hostility and I also knew why – my father had explained it too me long ago when I was naught but a wee lad. Our settlement was hidden and it must remain so. The scouts never showed themselves unless the intruder showed signs of knowledge regarding that one well-kept secret. I knew of it of course and I was certain they would recognize eventually if I called them out, but the hesitation was of another kind.

How would I face my kin?

Twenty years was a long time to be missing and no doubt had I been assumed dead. It would also be hard to explain all of my failures and unpolished skills. In Sweden everything had been on pretend, nothing had been truly real. Even though I was forty one I was ashamed to admit my lack in experience and skills.

I had to face that shame though. I knew that, if I ever wished to find my family, I needed the Rangers' help, I needed my people.

With a deep breath I addressed the scouts, " _Guards of the Dunedain, Rangers of the North_ ," I began, and I could almost see their bodies stiffen where they were hidden, _"I am Thangur, second born son of Thanguron, and I seek refuge!"_

I waited in suspense. Had I had any weapons I would have dropped them, but I did not, and such I could do nothing but wait they answered.

" _The Thangur son of Thanguron we knew has been gone for more than twenty years,"_ a steady voice called out, _"Tell us stranger, why should we believe you?"_

The familiar voice immediately caused me to feel weary and I wished everything would have been so very different than it was, " _An unexpected event caused my disappearance and yet another one caused my return,"_ I said, hoping they would accept that answer until they were in the settlement, " _I was foolish and left the Shire before someone came for me,"_ I confessed, " _I had been wounded by a wolf during the Fell Winter and the weather forced you to leave me behind. You were supposed to come for me in the spring, but you never did, so when midsummer came I left on my own."_

I was silent for a moment but when I received no reply I desperately continued, " _I have the scar the wolf gave me, see!"_ I took off my t-shirt to show the bite mark on my side, but the darkness would naturally prevent them from seeing it, " _Please father! It has been long but surely you could recognize your own son as I have you!"_

When no answer came I fell to the ground in despair. How could I prove my claim if they refused me entrance? " _Please father! Even if you no longer wish to have me as son I need your help!"_ I pleaded, " _I have five children and a wife, and they could be in grave danger!"_

No answer, only silence.

Why did no one answer my calls?

I buried my face in my hands the second time that day and I, a forty year old man, once again could not keep my tears from falling. My shame filled each tear and I could feel them burning my face. I was convinced my pathetic breakdown would make my father despise me more than he probably already did but how could I bring myself to care? I had lived in another world for twenty year, gotten married and had five wonderful children with one on the way and in one evening it had all been taken away from me. I had achieved nothing.

" _Stand up,"_ my father's voice demanded harshly and I felt two hands grab my upper arms and lift me to my feet.

Bewildered my eyes snapped open and found myself surrounded by rangers with bows drawn and my father standing right in front of me. I stared at his face and he at mine. As always I could not guess what he was thinking but then his eyes widened and shocked I recognized tears gathering in them. My father was close to crying.

" _Thangur,"_ he whispered, and it sounded as if he could not believe what he was seeing, " _my son! My son is alive!"_

His grasps tighten around my arms and then he embraced me. The rangers lowered their weapons and stared in disbelief and then joy.

" _My son!"_ my father sobbed _, "We thought you were dead yet here you are!"_

I had no words that could express what I was feeling that moment, and if I did, I would not have remembered them anyway. I could only embrace him back in reply.

* * *

Soon I and father sat alone in our house by the table. The fire was on and I discovered little had changed since I saw it last. The others had stayed by the border at their post. I was very tired as I had not slept at all even though the dawn was near. It had been a long night but I was still too stressed to relax and my father deserved some answers.

" _I have_ five _grandchildren, how is that even possible?!"_ Thanguron exclaimed loudly when I told him more about my family, " _and another one on the way? You are blessed, Thangur!"_

I ignored the aching inside of me, _"I am father_ ," I said, " _but they might be in danger if they too are here!"_

My father's eyes sobered, " _you have told us very little of where you have been,"_ he began, " _but I will take your word for it and I will speak to the chieftain about what we can do when he comes."_

" _Thank you father,"_ I said earnestly and bowed my head slightly.

" _You are my son, Thangur,"_ he replied, " _You never need to bow your head to me."_

I lifted my gaze again and even though I was happy I could not help but to feel undeserving of such respect, " _I do not deserve your love, father."_

" _Are your certain you are a father?"_ Thanguron snorted, " _Tell me, would you love your children any less even if you had not seen them for twenty years, or me or Thangurdir?"_

" _Wha-… no, of course not!"_ I cried out, "They-… _You all are my family, my flesh and blood how cou-… oh."_

My father laughed heartily at my protest and put a hand on my shoulder, " _oh, indeed!" he chuckled, "and you are in luck, my son! Chieftain Arathorn is already here as his wife just gave birth!"_

" _Arathorn has become Chieftain?"_ I asked in surprise, " _But that would mean that Arador…"_

" _Yes, Chieftain Arador was caught by Hill-Trolls north of Rivendell two years ago,"_ Thanguron sighed wearily, " _it is a relief that Lady Gilraen has given birth to an heir but… some of us fear what is to come."_

" _What do you mean?"_ I asked, alarmed by his tone, _"and surely you do not mean Gilraen daughter of Dírhael, do you?"_

" _I certainly do, Thangur,"_ he confirmed, _"she is very young, but the reason behind it only strengthen the importance of their marriage."_

I waited for him to elaborate.

" _Hill-Trolls, Thangur!"_ he said, _"not to mention the orcs and goblins that seems to venture further from the mountains. The roads are growing dangerous in a way they have not been for hundreds of years!"_

" _But that could be coincidence, you know they act up sometimes,"_ I tried to reason. I was well aware my father rarely made quick assumptions but I did not want to admit Cecilia and the children were in more danger than I had previously thought.

" _If only I could brush it off like that_ ," Thanguron said gravely, _"did you know_ _Dírhael opposed of the marriage at first? no, of course you could not possibly... Naturally he thought she was too young to wed at a mere twenty two, but he also…_ sensed _that Arathorn may not live as long as he should, and you know what they about him."_

I barely dared to breathe. Dírhael was said to have the gift of foresight, if only a weak one, but that hardly explained why he let his daughter marry the chieftain, if that was the future he saw.

" _It was only because Ivorwen, whom you know has an even stronger gift of foresight, convinced him it would bring hope to our people,"_ he continued, answering my unspoken question _"and it has, truly it has, but Thangur, all of this cannot be coincidence, something is brewing and we need to be on our guard!"_

I could only nod slowly in response. My home had changed more than I had previously suspected and the worry I felt for my family only grew with each second.

Father must have sensed my distress and placed a steady hand on my shoulder and said _"we will do whatever we can to find them, my son."_

I tried to take it to heart and let it comfort me, but I could not.

Close to no sleep was given to me that night, and many nights to come. I could only wait anxiously and pray that my most precious gifts would not be taken away from me for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am happy to announce the prologue is officially finished!
> 
> The reason it took so long was that I changed some plot and needed to do some research. That means I don't know when I will start publishing the chapters as I want to be some chapters ahead before I start. 
> 
> If you enjoy the story so far and/or find it interesting, pretty please let me know! If you don't feel like leaving a comment I do love that kudos button!


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